Quarter Four “GoodNight Mister Tom” Grade 12 Academic Year 2021-2022 ELA Department Name: ____________________________________ Grade: _____ Chapter Twenty-Spooky Cott Dedicated to Excellence Date: _________________ • In “Spooky Cott” Will shows himself to be very courageous. This is first demonstrated in Wi l l ’s a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s approaching the seemingly abandoned cottage. While the other friends run away in fear, Will insists on checking out the house and ends up finding Geoff, a fellow artist • The man is named Geoff and he speaks to the boys, explaining that he is also an evacuee. Geoff is an artist, which excites Will. Geoff asks Will to draw something. Upon looking at Will’s drawing, Geoff tells him he has “a gift.” He offers to give Will art lessons. 1) What did the children find at Spooky Cott? Shelter/ Cottage 2) What injuries did the man have? He has also had his leg and ear blown off, and a resulting nervous breakdown. 3) What was Mr. Sandereton’s hobby? Geoff asks Will to draw something. Upon looking at Will’s drawing, Geoff tells him he has “a gift.” 4) Which sound did the children hear as they approached the cottage? • They hear a strange music coming from the cottage and then hear a man’s voice inviting them inside, which initially startles the boys. 5) What did Gregory give to Will to show his skill? He offers to give Will art lessons. • 6) What did Will sketch? ——————————————————————————————————— 7) What caught Will and Zach’s interest as they went home? ——————————————————————————————————— 8) What news had the “visitors” in Mr. Tom’s house? The woman tells Will that his mother has committed suicide. She says Will has to come to the home to be put with foster parents. 9) Where did Will think of hiding if he had to go to a home? Lucy’s house 10) What was the result of the visit? Tom comes and tells Will that they have agreed to let Tom adopt him. Page 1 of 4 Quarter Four “GoodNight Mister Tom” Grade 12 Academic Year 2021-2022 ELA Department Dedicated to Excellence Chapter Twenty One-Back to School 1) Why was Zach worried about the Nazi’s bombing? Zach expresses concern about his parents in London now that the war has “started properly.” 2) Why was Carrie Thatcher wearing a new uniform? Carrie is getting ready for her first day of high school “Thatcher was backing her all the way and had even done some extra labouring so that she could have a new uniform.” 3) What did the letters A.F.S. stand for? Auxiliary Fire Service 4) Who were Will and Zach delighted to see in school? Geoffrey Sanderton 5) Why did Aunt Nance call to collect Zach from school? “His father has been badly injured.” 6) What did Zach give to Will to keep for him? “old tattered copy of Shakespeare’s works. ‘It was my great-grandfather’s.” 7) What did the 8 o’clock news say on Will’s birthday? “It was reported that flares had been dropped all over London and hundreds of German planes had been spotted. Spitfires and Hurricanes had soared up into the skies to fight them” 8) What did Zach leave in a parcel for Will? “Inside was part one of an epic adventure called ‘The Villainous Doctor Horror’. “In addition to the poem were two new paint-brushes, a second-hand book on painters, and a lopsided sketch of Will in an artist’s beret and smock. It showed him standing at an easel. ” 9) Why did the Littles call to Mister Tom’s a couple of days later? “they had news of Zach. ” 10) How did Will react to the news? “He knew that Zach was dead. In one black moment he felt his legs buckling up underneath him and he collapsed into unconsciousness.” Chapter Twenty Two-Grieving 1) How did Will feel in the weeks after Zach’s death? “he felt that half of himself had been cut away, that life without Zach was only half a life and even that half was empty.” 2) What did Will say repeatedly to Mr. Sanderton? “Most of the time Geoffrey set him still-life pictures to draw, so that for several hours Will could forget the dull pain that gnawed his insides and concentrate on the shapes in a bowl of fruit, the colour of a flower or the shades of light that fell on a bottle and boot. ” 3) Why were more and more evacuees arriving in Weirwold? “ to share in the festivities, with their children.” Page 2 of 4 Quarter Four “GoodNight Mister Tom” Grade 12 Academic Year 2021-2022 ELA Department Dedicated to Excellence 4) Who else missed Zach very much? Carrie 5) What improvement had Geoffrey Sanderton? “used a magnificent ebony walking stick that Emilia Thorne had given him. It was silver-topped with strange ornate designs carved around the knob.” 6) Which picture of Zach came into Will’s mind? “he saw Zach on his colourful bicycle, singing and lifting his arms high into the air yelling ‘Look, no hands’ and falling straight into a hedge, and he remembered his scratched face grinning up at him.” 7) Why did Will shout out at God in the forest? “ He was angry that Zach had died. Angry with him for going away and leaving him 8) Why was Aunt Nance surprised to see Will? “We’ve missed you coming round,” 9) What did Will ask from the Littles when he called over? “He wanted to ride Zack’s bike 10) How did Will feel after the play? He feels Zach with him deeply. He says to himself that Zach is not truly dead, because the memories are always there. Postscript • 1) Which planting campaign was under way? “planting vegetables in every available space. It was a shame really. The flowers had looked so colourful. All that remained now were neat brown rows with tufts of greenery sticking out of them.” 2) What did Will wear during the chores? “He was wearing Zach’s old red one with the hundred darns.” 3) What was Mrs. Thatcher’s (Carrie’s mother) attitude to reading? “readin’ is being idle.” 4) Where did Will and Carrie decide to go? The river 5) Why did Carrie want to change her clothes? The pale green wollen will the crossbar make it go up. 6) How did Mrs. Hartridge react to seeing her on the tandem? “stared at Carrie in amazement and they left her open-mouthed as they sped, shrieking with laughter, up the road.” 7) How did Carrie feel about High School? At the beginning she was unhappy, but now she is better. 8) What did Will notice about the peg that evening? “his peg was lower than usual.” • These final two chapters of Good Night, Mr. Tom bring to our attention some of the major themes of the book. The death of Zach weighs heavily on Will—more so than the death of his mother. Will loved Zach like his own brother, even if they only knew each other for about a year. It takes Will several months to recover from the death of his friend. We see how that by suppressing his emotions, he is lead to suffer. Will does not want to even think about his friend because it brings him pain. But by not confronting this pain, Will is kept from fully healing the trauma of his heart. It is not until Geoff shows him the picture of his own best friend who also died that the memories of Zach begin to reawaken in Will. Geoff has been through something similar to Will, and can see Page 3 of 4 Quarter Four “GoodNight Mister Tom” Grade 12 Academic Year 2021-2022 ELA Department Dedicated to Excellence • In the final chapter, Will notes that Tom looks older, but not weak. Here, it is implied that Tom’s strength comes not from his physical agility but his ability to love. • The power of love is an underlying theme throughout the book. It is finally having a loving home that lets Will regain his strength after years of abuse and neglect. Will feels strong enough that he is able to ride Zach’s bike at the end of the book, something that he never thought he could do. • Magorian finishes the book in a way that leaves a degree of ambiguity. We are shown a developing relationship between Will and Carrie. We are also shown that Tom is getting older. It is left up to us to imagine what will happen to the characters going forward. The last chapter ends with Will excitedly telling Tom that he has been growing. He is referring to his height, but we can infer a deeper meaning to the statement. Will is growing in many ways; he has become a 9) How did Mr. Tom look to Will as he gave him some tea? He also notices that Tom seems older. Although he perceives vulnerability in Tom, he realizes it is not the same thing as weakness. He calls Tom “Dad” and exclaims how he is growing. 10) What thought occurred to Will that evening? He calls Tom “Dad” and exclaims how he is growing. Page 4 of 4
