I had seen castles
I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant
Reading Guide
This novel is fiction unlike Night by Elie Wiesel, which is nonfiction; however, it describes how World War II affected the narrator, his family and his friends. It is written from a first person point of view and the perspective of the war is seen through the eyes of an older gentleman looking back into his youth. As you read the novel, try to make connections with Night.
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences. Write neatly and legibly!
Pages 1-4:
1. Name and describe the narrator’s city of birth.
John lives in Pittsburgh.
2. How old was he when he left the city?
John was 18 when he left the city.
3. How (in what way) is the narrator present in the house he is describing? (page 4)
John is at the house but apparently he is years late when there is nothing left.
Pages 5-8
1. Why does the narrator feel the need to follow his father?
He feels like it’s something he has to do everyone is doing it and he likes his father.
2. What does the father mean when he states, “We are in serious trouble”? In other words, what has happened to make him say this?
“The Germans believe they have discovered a method of splitting the uranium atom”.
3. What does the narrator state he wants desperately? Why?
He wants to go back in time and have that sunny afternoon in 1939 back.
4. What is the frame of the novel? In other words, approximately what year is it when the narrator is telling this story?
Well supposedly it’s 1939 but the narrator says it’s over 50 years later so it must be 1989.
Pages 9-16
1. Where is the narrator living as he is telling this story?
He is living in Toronto.
2. What doest he narrator mean when he states that he “…cannot pull [himself] out of 1942
Pittsburg. Mother and Dad. And Ginny”
He cannot escape he can’t skip forward and take his Mother, Dad or Ginny with him.
3. What has
Reading Guide
This novel is fiction unlike Night by Elie Wiesel, which is nonfiction; however, it describes how World War II affected the narrator, his family and his friends. It is written from a first person point of view and the perspective of the war is seen through the eyes of an older gentleman looking back into his youth. As you read the novel, try to make connections with Night.
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences. Write neatly and legibly!
Pages 1-4:
1. Name and describe the narrator’s city of birth.
John lives in Pittsburgh.
2. How old was he when he left the city?
John was 18 when he left the city.
3. How (in what way) is the narrator present in the house he is describing? (page 4)
John is at the house but apparently he is years late when there is nothing left.
Pages 5-8
1. Why does the narrator feel the need to follow his father?
He feels like it’s something he has to do everyone is doing it and he likes his father.
2. What does the father mean when he states, “We are in serious trouble”? In other words, what has happened to make him say this?
“The Germans believe they have discovered a method of splitting the uranium atom”.
3. What does the narrator state he wants desperately? Why?
He wants to go back in time and have that sunny afternoon in 1939 back.
4. What is the frame of the novel? In other words, approximately what year is it when the narrator is telling this story?
Well supposedly it’s 1939 but the narrator says it’s over 50 years later so it must be 1989.
Pages 9-16
1. Where is the narrator living as he is telling this story?
He is living in Toronto.
2. What doest he narrator mean when he states that he “…cannot pull [himself] out of 1942
Pittsburg. Mother and Dad. And Ginny”
He cannot escape he can’t skip forward and take his Mother, Dad or Ginny with him.
3. What has