The Secret Garden Chapter 23

The Secret Garden Chapter 23

1)What was Colin’s chief peculiarity according to Mary?

A: Mary said that Colin’s chief peculiarity was that he didn’t know how rude he was.

2)What was Colin’s scientific experiment?

A:Colin’s experiment was to see if he could tell ‘magic’ what to do.

3) How did Colin distinguish between right and wrong magic?

A:The right magic is magic for good things, the opposite for wrong.

4)What did Colin do to keep his experiment a secret?

A: Colin didn’t tell anyone besides Mary and Dickon about his experiment.

Thought Questions:

1) Why was it helpful for the children to think of what happened in the garden was magic?

A:I think that it was helpful because it was just easier to think about something that they knew.

2) How would you define what Colin calls magic?

A: Nature is what Colin calls magic.

3)Can you make nice things happen if you say they are going to happen?

A:I don’t think that we can, because God’s the only one that can do that.

4) This book was written in 1909, when scientists like Einstein and Pavlov were experimenting with physics and physiology. How do you think this growing interest in science might have influenced Burnett’s writing?

A:I think that since all of that was going on at the time it made sense for her to write about it.

The Secret Garden Chapter 22

The Secret Garden Chapter 22

1)What was the magic according  to Dickon?

A: According to Dickon Magic was something that some people have and some don’t

2)How had Ben entered the garden? For what purpose?

A: Ben had entered the garden over the wall because before Colin’s mom died she made him promise that if she ever left, or got sick or anything that Ben would have to take care of her roses.

3)What did Colin want to do before the sun set?

A: Colin wanted to plant a rose bush before the sun went down.

Thought Questions:

1)How did Ben justify breaking orders and coming into the Garden? Were his reasons valid? What does his reasoning tell you about his character?

A:Ben said that Colin’s mom wanted him to take care of her roses forever. I think that his reasons were valid. I think that Ben is a little rough on the outside, but once you get to know him, he’s really sweet.

2) Why do you think Burnett used the word “magic”  so frequently? Think about Mary’s childhood and her love of fantasy books. Think also about the way the children’s growth was related to discovering joy in life and seeing ordinary things in a new way?

A: I think that that’s just part of the book that makes it special.

The Secret Garden Chapter 21

The Secret Garden Chapter 21

1)How was Colin distracted from the old tree? Why did he need to be distracted?

A: Colin got distracted from the tree because he saw the robin, Colin needed to be distracted because he was looking at the tree where his mom died.

2)When did Dickon say Colin would walk again?

A: Dickon said that Colin could walk again as soon as he got stronger.

3)Who interrupted the stillness of the afternoon? Why was he  angry?

A: Ben Weatherstaff was on a ladder looking into the Secret garden. He was angry because Mary hadn’t told him about it.

4)What did the newcomer assume about Colin? How did Colin prove him wrong?

A: Ben assumed that Colin was crippled. Colin stood up and yelled at him.

Thought Questions:

1) Discuss Dickon’s suggestion that Mrs.Craven was looking after Colin. Why do you think people want to believe that their loved ones are still present even after they die? Does that belief have any basis in truth?

A:  I think that it sometimes helps people if they are told that. It really doesn’t have any basis of truth in it.

2) Why do  you think Ben was so protective of the garden? What did the garden symbolize to him?

A: I think that Ben was so protective of the garden because it meant so much to Mrs.Craven. I think that him protecting it symbolized his care for Mrs.Craven.

The Secret Garden Chapter 20

The Secret Garden Chapter 20

1)How did the children arrange to get Colin in the garden without being seen?

A: The children decided that it would be best if they could get all of the gardeners out of the gardens, so that no one would be around.

2) What orders did Colin give Mr.Roach?

A: Colin told Mr. Roach that he had to take all of his gardening men inside when they went out.

3)What did Colin announce when he saw the Secret Garden?

A: Colin announced that he should live for ever and ever, when he got pushed into the Secret Garden.

Thought Questions:

1) Was there any magic in Dickon’s ability to make Colin and Mary feel better? If not, how did he do it? What unspoken lesson did he teach them?

A: I don’t think that it was Dickon at all, I think that it was the outdoors. I think that Dickon taught them to like the out of doors.

2) Why do you think the springtime and the garden had such a profound impact on Colin?

A: I think that just thinking about being somewhere that his mother had been and how beautiful it was helped Colin.

The Secret Garden Chapter 19

The Secret Garden Chapter 19

1)Why did Dr.Craven come?  What did he expect to find? What did he find?

A: Dr. Craven came to see Collin, for a check up after his temper tantrum. Dr.Craven thought that he would find Colin all white-faced, crying and screaming, but he found Colin talking with Mary and sitting up on his couch.

2)What, according to Mrs.Sowerby do children learn from other children?

A:According to Mrs. Sowerby children learn how to act from other people.

3)How would Dr. Craven have explained Colin’s better health in the morning? How did Colin explain it?

A: Dr.Craven really couldn’t explain how he had gotten better. Colin said that it was Mary that made him feel better.

4)What did Dickon bring along with him when he came to visit?

A:Dickon brought with him two squirrels, a fox, a lamb and a bird.

Thought Questions:

1)Why do you think the animals made it easier for children to converse?

A: I think that when animals are around, then kids have something to do while they get to know each other and it makes it less awkward.

The Secret Garden Chapter 18

The Secret Garden Chapter 18

1)According to Mrs.Sowerby, what were the two worst things for a child?

A: The two worst things for a child is being neglected and spoiled.

2)What did Dickon say was good for sick people?

A: Dickon said that fresh air is good for sick people.

3)How did Mary make Colin laugh?

A:Mary made Colin laugh by talking a bunch of Yorkshire.

4)What did Mary decide to tell Colin?

A: Mary decided to tell Colin that she had found the secret garden about a month ago.

Thought Questions:

1)Do you think it is better for a child to be neglected or spoiled? Why? Are these two things similar in any way? What type  of damage does each cause?

A: I don’t know which one is better, because if they’re spoiled then they act all stuck up, but if they’re neglected then  they don’t know how to act. I think that they are similar a little bit. Both of these can cause tons of different damage.

2)What did Mary, Colin, and Ben Weatherstaff have in common? How did they help each other grow?

A: Mary, Colin and Ben all have tempers. They can help each other grow by working together to improve.

3)Why do you think Dickon seemed like an angel to Mary? What does this comparison tell you about her understanding of angels?

A: I think that just by the way that he acts is cool to Mary. This tells me that Mary doesn’t really know that much about angels but that she knows that they are kind and caring.

The Secret Garden Chapter 17

The Secret Garden Chapter 17

1)What awakened Mary in the middle of the night?

A: Colin had another crying fit that night about his back.

2)What did the Nurse ask Mary to do?

A: The Nurse asked Mary to go see if she could get him to be quiet.

3)Did Colin have a lump on his back?

A: Mary looked at Colin’s back and there wasn’t a lump on it.

4)What did Colin agree to do with Mary and Dickon?

A: Colin agreed to go outside with Mary and Dickon in the morning.

Thought Questions:

1)How might Colin have grown up  differently if he had been around other children?

A: I think that Colin would’ve been less demanding and I think that  he would just have a better life overall.

2)Does this book imply that most illness has a mental, not physical cause?

A: This book does imply that all sicknesses have a mental part of it

3)Is the truth always enough to convince people to put aside their superstitions?

A: I think that it depends on the person and how hard they are to prove.

The Secret Garden Chapter 16

The Secret Garden Chapter 16

1)What did Mary do to offend Colin?

A: Mary chose to go play in the garden instead of hanging out with Colin.

2)What made Mary angry with Colin? Was she being hypocritical?

A: The thing that made Mary made was that Colin was having a temper tantrum, because she didn’t go talk to him that morning. I don’t think that she was, necessarily.

3) Why did the nurse laugh?

A:The nurse laughed because she had seen the look on Colin’s face, because he had never gotten yelled at before, everyone always did what he wanted?

4)What did Mr.Craven send Mary?

A:Mr. Craven send Mary a pack of seeds.

Thought Questions:

1)Is it strange to you that Mary was excited about getting fatter? How are your standards of beauty different than Mary’s?

A: I think that it seems strange to us, but I think that since she was so skinny and not very pretty, getting fatter was good for her to make her body not so skinny and give color to her body. My standards and Mary’s are probable really different.

2)When is anger a healthy emotion? What makes it a unhealthy?

A: I think that anger is only healthy when you control it and you have a reason for it. Anger most of the time is unhealthy because  it can be dangerous sometimes.