Thursday, January 5, 2012

Phantom Tollbooth discussion questions, ch. 5-end of book!


I'm really sorry we didn't break this up more for discussion; there's a lot going on in this little book, and it is all pretty cool (sorry you disagree, Jacob--:) )! We'll get in as much conversation about it as we can today. Below are some questions to ponder about the book. If you have your own, please comment and add them to this post!
1. Idioms are used a great deal throughout this book. An idiom is a a phrase with an understood meaning that is different from its actual words (ex. "I'm all ears", "a square meal". Find some examples of idioms in the book and list them here!

2. What does Milo learn in the Land Of Illusions? Why is it important to notice what is going on around us?

3. Chroma- the purity of a color, the saturation of a color or hue. Chromatic- pertaining to color or colors.
~Who is Chroma the Great? Why can’t the instruments stop playing?

4. Definitions:
Discord- lack of harmony, a combination of musical tones that strikes the ear harshly
Dissonance- lack of agreement, inconsistency, a clashing of sounds
Cacophonous (cacophony) - harsh sounding, harsh sounds or words
Din- a loud continued noise
~Discuss why a sound is pleasant or unpleasant. Can a pleasant sound become an unpleasant one?

5. ~Discuss the idiom “jumping to conclusions." How do we sometimes do this?
~Why couldn’t they jump back? Why did they have to swim through the Sea of Knowledge? Discuss how finding out the facts is often times like swimming through a sea, and how it can be difficult and take much effort.

6. Discuss the Subtraction Stew that was fed to Milo, Tock, and Humbug. How can adding leave you with less than you started with?

7. Where did the Everpresent Wordsnatcher (Dirty Bird) really live? Discuss how the bird took what Milo said “out of context”.

8. Discuss what the Terrible Trivium says about meaningless tasks: “There is always something to do that keeps you from what you should be doing.” Is this true? What are some ways we can keep this from happening?

9. Chapter 19 lists several more demons of ignorance:
The Triple Demons of Compromise
The Horrible Hopping Hindsight
The Gorgons of Hate and Malice
The Overbearing Know-it-all
The Gross Exaggeration
The Threadbare Excuse
Dilemma
Which are unknown terms? Define them and describe the negative impacts these things have on wisdom.

10. Pick and discuss from the following ideas and tell what Milo learned about them on his journey: Wisdom (or Common Sense), Time, Ignorance, Fear, Appreciation of Everyday Life, Boredom, Words, or Numbers.

11. What is Milo doing at the end of the book? Do you think he has changed or stayed the same as before he found the Tollbooth?

Okay, that's a lot of questions, but this book is very thought provoking! Let's talk, Bookies.
:)
Mrs. P

4 comments:

Jacob said...

I finished the book!!!!!

Mrs. P said...

Excellent! Thanks for slogging your way through that one, Jacob. :) Now, why hasn't anyone responded to any of these discussion questions is what I am asking myself right now...

Unknown said...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........This is for you kids.... This is not for Mrs. Pulley and I. You all need to discuss. We will chime in when necessary. We want you to lead the blog discussions! Let's go people..

zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Johnny Ryall said...

Mysterious commentator.