Thursday, September 24, 2009

9th Grade Homework Answers for 'The Night the Bed Fell'

In the comments section of this post, I have placed the summary of 'The Night the Bed Fell' and also the answers to the comprehension questions. It is your job to copy these down by next Monday (9A) and Tuesday (9B).
Posted by at
Labels:

2 comments:

Miss Jones said...

A Summary of The Night the Bed Fell
The author recalls an incident that occurred while he was growing up. His father had decided to sleep in the attic bed even though Mother feared that the wobbly headboard might crash down on him. About two in the morning, the author rolled to the side of his army cot, and it flipped over on top of him. Although he remained asleep beneath the overturned cot, the noise woke his mother, who thought that the headboard had fallen upon his father. When the author’s brother Herman heard his mother’s screams, he thought that she was hysterical and began shouting, “You’re all right, Mamma!” The commotion woke Briggs, the author’s cousin, who was obsessed that he would stop breathing some night. Briggs concluded that he had stopped breathing and that people were shouting to revive him, and he dumped a glass of camphor- pungent spirits used to revive someone—over his head. The camphor was so strong and suffocating that he beat out the glass in a window to get fresh air. By now, the author had discovered that he was under his cot, and he assumed that the noise was being made in efforts to rescue him. Meanwhile, Mother, being chased by Herman who still thought she was hysterical, tried to open the attic door, which was stuck. Roy, the author’s brother, began shouting, and Rex, the dog, began barking. Father awoke and assumed that the house was on fire. The dog, unfamiliar with Briggs, assumed that he was the culprit and leaped upon him. The family finally was able to realize what had happened, and Mother remarked that she was glad that Grandfather had not been there.

Thursday, September 24, 2009
Miss Jones said...

The Night the Bed Fell
1. Why do you suppose Thurber calls the incident in this story the “high water mark” of his youth?
Thurber might have used the term because the events of the night were unique and memorable, standing out from other memories in the way that a high water mark stands higher than other marks that are there to record the height of a flood.
2. What strange phobias did Thurber’s relatives have?
Thurber’s cousin Briggs Beall thought he might suffocate while asleep; Aunt Melissa Beall thought she would die on South High Street, the same street on which she was born and married; his Aunt Sarah Shoaf thought a burglar would chloroform her through a tube under her door; and Aunt Gracie Shoaf thought burglars came to her home every night so she threw shoes to scare them away.
3. Explain what various members the family thought had happened “the night the bed fell.” What really happened?
Thurber’s mother thought that the attic bed had tumbled over on his father. His brother Herman thought that their mother was hysterical. Briggs, the cousin, believed he was suffocating and that everyone was trying to help him. Thurber himself, whose cot had turned over on him, woke up and assumed that he was in a perilous predicament from which people were attempting to remove him. His father concluded that everyone was making a racket because the house was on fire. What really happened was that Thurber’s cot had rolled him onto the floor and toppled over on him.
4. What elements make this story humorous? Do you think the author told this story exactly as it happened? Explain.
The outrageous characters and their idiosyncrasies, the use of dialogue and description, and the ironic ending are all elements that make the story humorous. The author probably exaggerated somewhat, especially about his relatives’ phobias.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)