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Block 1
Plot |
Characters |
Setting |
Quotes |
|
| 1. How you grow up affects what opportunities you have. |
Pat finding out the kids don't know anything
Pat being shocked to find out that he can't participate in the Board meeting
The kids going on the Halloween field trip Not know about roads and other things on the Washington, DC field trip |
Ms. Brown not training the kids effective (physical punishment)
Pat Conroy being an educated teacher |
Trick or treating across the riverr at Beufort
Yamacraw being cut off from the rest of the country
Boys from California learning how to make outhouses |
"You have never [had Halloween]?" (123)
"Have you ever heard of the U.S.A?" (33)
"...the river is good to them in the crossing" (292)
"...Betsy goin' to do all the talking...." (233)
"I ain't coming near that old pool" (255) |
| 2. You have to learn to adjust to the people around you |
Trying to convince the parents for the trip -- getting a sense of the island
Kids trying to adjust to the living on the Washington, DC trip
Pat trying to understand the island's accent |
Ms Brown never learning about the kids
Pat has to learn to adjust to people of the island and their ways (Edna)
California boys learning to adjust their teaching expectations |
The environment Pat grew up in vs. Yamacraw Island
|
"My life was centered around sports and academics..." (71)
"What are you doing here white man?" (12) |
| 3. It's important to learn how to fit in with the rest of society |
Class learning about the city during the Halloween trip
peeing in the parking lot at the Globetrotter's Game |
Peter Walters teaching kids how to play soccer
Pat Conroy teaching kids in general |
Yamacraw Island being separated from life in the city |
"Soccer is a game played with the feet" (235)
"Can you drive a boat?"(16) |
| 4. You should treat marginalized people equally |
Being treated nicely on the Halloween trip
Shutting Pat out from the Board meeting
Beuford neighbors not liking Pat housing some of his students
Everybody waving and welcoming Pat when he gets to the island |
Pat Conroy marginalized on the island
Kids are marginalized from regular society
Ms Brown disciplining all kids |
The state of disrepair and ruin on the island | "...the river is good to them in the crossing" (292) |
| 5. If you try hard enough, you can gain the loyalty and interest of people. |
Getting parent permissions for the field trip
All the people from Yamacraw standing up for Pat
Pat encouraging the kids to persevere in learning |
Pat constantly trying to get the kids to learn
Prophet trying to overcome his speech disability
Mary helping Pat understand the accent |
Visiting Beufort
Pat's classroom |
"And think about the twins go..." (137) |
Plot |
Characters |
Setting |
Quotes |
|
| 1. Being isolated makes you powerless |
Don't know about stop signs
Kids don't know about Halloween
Conroy isolated at the Board meeting |
Ms. Brown isolated from other blacks (esp. the kids)
Edna doesn't let her grandkids go on the trips
Kids isolated by Ms. Brown
Conroy having to sleep in the school building |
Kids can't compare themselves to other kids
Kids won't be able to adjust to regular society (in the city)
Yamacraw has no economy; is in poverty
Yamacraw has no roads -- missing culture |
"Who's this?...That's Babe Ruth" (46-47) "None of my children going along with you" (135) "No you can't go" (139) |
| 2. To fit in you should exchange ways of life |
Kids teach him about wildlife and hunting
Pat watching people fish off the dock
Pat teaching kids to play basketball
Pat bringing in music and movies for kids |
Pat Conroy teaching kids
Ted & Lou Stone moving into Yamacraw
Kids telling Pat about their culture |
Field trips to places outside of Yamacraw
School as a place for this cultural exchange |
"The basics -- that's all they'll need" (111) |
| 3. To change things you need to build a bridge to new experiences |
Taking the kids on field trips
California boys coming to the island
Building relationships with parents |
People standing up for Pat at the strike
Power vs people after the strike |
Yamacraw's isolation makes it hard to build bridges but Pat uses his boat | "I thought of myself as a bridge between two worlds" () |
| 4. Treat the marginalized the way you would treat yourself |
Pat treating kids with respect (vs Mrs. Brown)
Pat being scared at the schoolhouse
|
Mrs. Brown's Bullwhip and textbooks |
How the island was in shambles
Island was a prison before Pat came |
"Do I need to get you a bullwhip to help you discipline them" () |
| 5. Be open to other cultures |
Pat has to learn about island culture (boats, fishing, hunting)
Kids saying how they like Pat (for not beating them) but hate Ms. Brown
Kids going to Pat's house and learning how to swim |
Pat Conroy is willing to treat the kids as kids
Kids learning from Pat, and missing him when he had to leave |
Beaufort neighborhood accepting kids for Halloween
Later on, the neighborhoods being uncomfortable with kids living there
Pat being wet and cold and kids warm him up |
"The whites eat s-word" (14)
|
Block 4
Plot |
Characters |
Setting |
Quotes |
|
| 1. It's important to be exposed to things outside your environment |
Pat meeting and needing Zeke and Ted Stone
Field trips to Beufort, Washington DC
Pat finds out the kids don't know much about a lot of things |
Pat Conroy moving and teaching at Yamacraw learns a lot Ms. Brown being closed-minded is stubborn and limited in her thinking |
Yamacraw island has a unique culture that taught Pat a lot
Beufort neighborhood taking kids in for Halloween |
"The river is good to them in the crossing" (292)
|
| 2. Stay true to yourself even as you try to fit in (we are yummy chocolate) |
Conroy did not follow Ted Stone's racism
Pat did not change his teaching methods to Ms Brown's
|
Pat Conroy remaining stubborn to his views
Mrs. Brown remaining stubborn to her views |
Pat deciding to stay with his family in Beaufort
Pat accepting some of his students to stay over |
"I've seen the way you take care of dogs" (120) "Whenever we learned something new it became a pep rally" (60) |
| 3. The best way to change your environment is to change and be yourself and start at the heart. |
Pat wanting to come in and change Yamacraw by teaching the kids
Pat changing the way he teaches the alphabet
|
Ms Brown not "starting at the heart" in teaching the kids
Ms Brown growing up being whipped
Conroy taking kids on trips to expose them to new things
|
Edna's house as the "heart" of the island |
"The people of the island changed very little..." (
"I don't think I changed their lives significantly..." (
"The parents liquored up down there..." (25)
"Look what we have done for the improvement of mankind" (148) |
| 4. Treat the marginalized the way you would like to be treated |
Ms. Brown calling the children "retarded"
|
Pat treating the children the way he was taught himself | Pat's visit to Yamacraw vs Bennington's |
"We're going to have fun and learn things and it's just going to be great" (142) |
| 5. We should all help people feel at home with themselves and others |
Halloween field trip helps kids see Pat in his environment
Kids playing sports, Pat trying to teach them
Zeke and Ted receiving Pat on his boat rides and talking to him |
Zeke Skimberry being friendly and supportive of Pat
Kids being open to Pat's teaching style and his "craziness" |
Beaufort: Halloween trip vs kids living with Pat
Pat's classroom vs. Brown's classroom |
"My grandma shoot Brown dead but she no shoot you" (131)
"Son, you can do more good at Yamacraw..." (2) |
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