"The Hitchhiker" and "The Interlopers"

I had stopped the car at a sleepy little junction just across the border into Oklahoma to let a train pass by when he appeared across the tracks – he was leaning against a telephone pole.

"junct–" Latin root meaning join

Use context clues and the root meaning above to meaning for the word "junction" as used in the sentence.

• the act of being joined

• place to stop and rest on long road trips

• train station

• a place where railroads meet, or an intersection railroad

Now I knew that he was beckoning -- beckoning me to my death. "beckon" -- to make a gesture to invite or encourage someone nearer. Read the words below. Select the word that is NOT a synonym for beckon.

• summon

• coax

• produce

• call

I was in excellent spirits--drive ahead, even the loneliness seemed like a lark. "lark" --an amusing or mischievous adventure. Read the sentence above and consider context clues and the word meaning provided. In which sentence is lark used same way as in the sentence above?

• The carefree teenage boys seemed to think that all of life was a lark.

• Steven used his time to lark about the museum's long, wide hallways.

• The birdwatcher spotted a lark high on the branch, but by the time he lifted his camera lens and focused, it was flying away.

• Don missed his friends in Los Angeles, but it was too long of a lark to visit.

Read the excerpt below:

Adams: There was a man there I tell ya! A thin man with an overnight bag in his hand. I was trying to run him down.

Girl: Run him down? You mean kill 'im?

Adams: He's sort of -- phantom. I'm trying to get rid of him -- or at least prove he's real.

Girl: I didn't see a soul. And as far as that's concerned, mister...

What is the meaning of the word phantom as it is used in the excerpt above?

• a confusing topic

• a figment of the imagination

• a lie

• invisible

All of the following EXCEPT ONE reveal that the hitchhiker is not a real, living person.

• "He [Hitchhiker] was waiting for me outside the Navajo reservation where I stopped to check my tires. I saw him in Albuquerque where I bought ten gallons of gas."

• Saw him [Hitchhiker] on the Brooklyn Bridge.... an hour later, while crossing the Pulaski Skyway over the Jersey Flats... Then late at night I saw him again.

• It was on the new Pennsylvania Turnpike between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh ... I saw him [Hitchhiker] standing in the light (approximately 265 miles later)

• Henry. Who is it Henry?

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What is the climax, or most intense moment in the story?

• Adams sees the Hitchhiker on the Brooklyn Bridge.

• Adams is told that his mother has had a breakdown grieving the loss of her oldest son.

• Adams speaks to his mother before he embarks on his journey.

• Adams stops in Ohio for a detour, and the hitchhiker is standing in front of the detour.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.4

In "The Interlopers," the land belongs to

• Georg Znaeym

• Nobody, whoever submits a legal claim first will be considered the new owner.

• Ulrich, at least that is what the court decided

• A rich with royal blood intent on killing trespasses

In the story, "The Interlopers," Saki writes, "Georg, who was blinded with the blood which trickled across his eyes stopped his struggling for moment to listen, and then gave a short, snarling laugh." All of the following represent symbolic meaning for this line EXCEPT

• The visual imagery of being blinded by blood relates to both of the men and their blind allegiance to their family's hatred of their neighbors.

• The blood line can be symbolic of the fact that the feud is three generations, or blood-lines old.

• Both men are blinded by hate and allegiance to their families, and each family feels that they have a rightful claim to the land.

• The visual imagery is the blood represents a stain on the country due to this dispute.

The title "The Interlopers" might refer to...

• Both men--each felt the other had no right to be on the property.

• Other men who might come between them -- initially to prevent them from killing each other, and later to interfere with their friendship.

• All the men who were out in the wilderness that night -- at a time and a ina place that belonged to Mother Nature -- a place where the wild things are, not men.

• All of the choices

Which of the following is NOT an appropriate theme of the story relating involving Mother Nature?

• Nature will serve as a judge and jury for man's crimes.

• In the classic battle of Man vs. Nature, the men show their dominance over creatures and superiority over Nature

• The men are battling over who owns the land, yet Nature shows them neither of them really "own" the land.

• In the battle for dominance over land, man is puny and Nature will always win.