Questions+-+Chp+4

1. Why does the boy get a painful lump in his throat shortly after his mother's return?

2. How does the mother both encourage the boy's hope for Sounder and prepare him for the worst?

3. Why does the boy hate the cold wind?



4. Why does the mother let her oldest child lick the icing pan first?

5. Of what importance is the boy's recollection of earlier mistletoe and bittersweet sales?

6. Why is the construction of the courthouse important?

7. Why does the boy's fear increase as he nears town?

8. What do the boy's thoughts as he passess by the store windows revela about his attitudes towards books and readings?

9. Why does the boy lose his appetite in the jail?

10. How does the boy's response to the red-faced man's cruelty resemble his response to the ruthlessness of the sheriff?

11. Why is it appropriate for the boy to notice his father's hands as he looks at him standing behind cell bars?

12. Why can't the boy deliver his planned speeches?

13. Why is the conversation between the boy and the father pathetic? The conversation between the father and the son is pathetic because the boy traveled 8 miles to see him and they have nothing to say to each other.