SECONDARY 3 COMPREHENSION COMMONWEALTH THE CIRCUS AND VISUAL

SECONDARY 3 COMPREHENSION COMMONWEALTH THE CIRCUS AND VISUAL

The Circus

The· circus ·was coming to town. Giving us the news was like setting fire to the ·April hay. We screamed and tumbled in the dust. The beasts in the field fled from our frenzy of delight: Soon· as we· became exhausted from. our bursts cit joy, we sat under the· fire·tree and talked only of the tents and buntings and the cotton candy remnants that could be scraped from the grass. Joel had seen it all before, Joe, my brother.

Open Ended

Give evidence that the children had been looking forward to the circus for a long time.

What word from this paragraph means "excitement"?

The Circus

It was a fragrant season perfumed by May. We seemed to float from field to field, the memory of school conveniently blotted from our minds. Haystacks were palaces and carabaos were dragons of the enemy, and Joel was, of course. our king. We wielded swords and boasted costumes fashioned from the bark and twigs and we fought enervating battles' for him, who was content to rule with a bamboo sceptre, the ever- calm monarch. It was a world that could be shattered only by an angry parent.

Open Ended

Describe, in your own words, how the children played.

Who was the "angry parent?"

The Circus

Then one summer day that was like a bursting star in a long-dead night, the circus came, all gloriously bedecked in flower shrouds and buntings, all properly peopled by infallible and beautiful beings. Joe! .and I, sitting atop a bald acacia tree. squealing in delight and pointing to the various artists walking about the grounds. It did not matter to us that older people were commenting on the squalor of the tents being pitched up and the ordinariness of the circus people. For us, these were further proof that age ripped people of the proper feelings.

Open Ended

Contrast how the children and adults felt about the circus.

Describe how the adults felt about the people in the circus. How do you know?

Which word means "indestructible"?

The Circus

And yet. in a way, Joel was made older by the coming of the circus. As we roamed the newly built grounds, a whole city, it seemed to us. I could feel him transferring to a new level that was inaccessible to me. We walked in great circles, pausing here and there to examine a bearded 'No man or a rabbit cage and everything new that we absorbed seemed to lower or elevate him to a different level that was frightening in its remoteness. When the fear became unbearable, I asked Joel that we go home.

Open Ended

What was frightening the author about Joel's reaction to the circus?

The Circus

He said that we could not, for there was something he was looking for and then silence after that. As the sun went down in the v.iest. we proceeded in our ever-growing circles in search of a mysterious goal that Joel alone knew. When we reached the fringes of the circus, by the side of a newly pitched half-tent that was ready to drop at the slightest gust of wind, Joel touched my arm and pointed. I saw nothing but dilapidation.

Open Ended

Explain why the circus ended up disappointing the author.

The Circus

But Joel was seeing an entirely different universe, for he drew a sigh that only a battered explorer at the end of his search could draw. He pointed once more. and in the dark of twilight, I could see the shadow of a limping man. We stood there for some time, staring at the apparition that walked across the tent ground in an engrossing, limping manner and then it disappeared into the folds of the canvas tent.

Open Ended

Explain FULLY how Joel felt after witnessing the dilapidated tent.

What did the children see that was even more disappointing?

The Circus

Somewhere, an electrical connection was made and the tent exploded with light. High from a wooden pole, a metal loudspeaker crackled into static that was frightening in its loudness. Joel gripped my arm and bade me to be silent. The side of the tent facing us was one big billboard scre·amirig its message: FRANCO, THE WIZARD, it said. It told of amazing magic tricks to be shown within the tent and it told of bodies slashed. into halves and bodies floating into the air. I forgot my fear as the illustrations billowed before my face, the figures in the canvas made all the eerier by the crackling static of the antique loudspeaker. Jo·et had conveniently forgotten me by this time, his hands losing the grip on mine. His palms were clasped together in reverence, his eyes two wide orbs of total appreciation. We were then._captivesJ, oel_a nd I.

Open Ended

Describe the change in the children's feelings at the end of the passage. Contrast it with the beginning.