The Wretched and The Beautiful

Which set of aliens are the most believable?

• the first set, “The Wretched”

• the second set, “The Beautiful”

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When did the first aliens land?

• August

• Hot August evening.

• A hot August evening at 6:42.

• It was late summer in the morning at 6:42.

"The lurid glow of the marquees and brothels revealed to us a shivering, shambling crowd, some slumped like apes, some clutching their young. Some had five limbs, some four, and some three. Their joints were crablike, and their movement both resembled ours and differed to such a degree that it sickened us to watch. There were sixty-four of them, including the juveniles. Although we were unacquainted with their biology, it was plain that none were in good health."

In the above quote, why might the author have set the backdrop with marquees and brothels?

• The author was giving a clue to what she thought of the humans. By using a marquees we see that the humans have become nothing but mindless watchers, instead of living active people.

• The author was giving a clue to what she thought of the humans. By using a marquees we see that the humans have become nothing but mindless watchers, and this is reflected in how the people watch the hurt aliens being herded toward the lights. By using the brothels we know we are not in a good part of town and are reminded of the ugliness of some of humanity's choices.

• A marquees is a large canopy that projects over the entrance to a theater, hotel, or other building.

• The author likes those kinds of places and wanted them in her story.

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What do aliens represent in this story?

• The aliens represent anyone we see as different than ourselves and stands for anything society may use to judge one another with such as race, age...

• The aliens represent another species who have traveled from a distant planet from a far away galaxy. These aliens are a key part in the story.

• The aliens represent the pain we feel when we are treated poorly.

• Aliens arrive on a hot night near a sandy beach, but they are sick.

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Why does the author include the teacher who offers to pay for a room for the aliens?

• The aliens get to meet at least one nice person, and they are very glad for the teacher who is going to help them when no one else will.

• She contributes a lot to the aliens and represents the good in the world. She shows us that there aren't a lot of good people out there.

• She is important to the story and it wouldn't be a good story without her.

• When the teacher offers to pay for a room for the aliens, we get to see the selfishness and apathy of the other people in the story. She is used to contrast what should be done with what was being done.

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What is the author saying about society with paragraph 31?

"Most of us averted our eyes from that picture of unmitigated misery and admired instead the gemlike sky... This was no longer our problem; it belonged to our governors, our senators, our heads of state. Surely they and their moneyed friends would assist these wretched creatures."

• She is shining a light on society's tendency to turn a blind eye, care for oneself, and ignore the plight of others while simultaneously handing over the problem to those in charge hoping they will take care of all of the problems.

• She wants society to look to the governors, senators, and heads of state to take care of the people in society that need help.

• She is a senator and wants people to look to her for guidance as she has all the answers and will help everyone who needs help.

• She is pointing out how many people in society are a drain on government. She wants better senators, governors, and heads of state.

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In paragraph 39, new gorgeous aliens descended in rockets shaped like needles polished to a high gloss with doors that were slim and whispered open upon six of the major capitols of the world. The author's choice of words are very different from the first set of aliens. Why would she change the setting to the capitols and make the aliens beautiful and like us?

• It is obvious that the aliens should go to the leaders of the world. This shows the second species is more intelligent than the first.

• We like beautiful powerful things. It makes her readers like her story.

• In contrasting the two species we get to see a larger vision of what lives in the galaxies beyond and she wouldn't be able to solve the problem of the first aliens without the second aliens.

• In contrasting the two species and settings, the author is drawing attention to how society values power, beauty, and apparent wealth above those that appear weak, plain, or poor.

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The last sentence says, "All was well." Is that true?

• Yes, all the aliens were gone and the people could live their lives free of the interruption and fear. The politicians handled things well and turned alien business over to the aliens where it belonged.

• No, the aliens scorched the earth leaving blackened patches of grass and wisps of smoke that curled and died.

• Yes, the beautiful aliens took the plain aliens away.

• No, the society in the story stood back while one species of aliens destroyed a harmless species who needed help because their planet had died. Because no one would stand for what was right, an entire species died and that is wrong.

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