The Eleventh Plague
Book by: Jeff Hirsch - Presentation by: Erin Breu
Summary
Theme
One example that shows the theme is when the school is on fire and he is trying to save the young children inside. Stephen tries to save the books because he has a personal connection with books and his mother who is no longer alive due to P11. When the walls are about to crumble and set the whole room on fire, Stephen is still intent on saving the books, so he tries carrying them while climbing over the ladder of desks and through the window. Suddenly, the ladder of desks starts to tumble into the flames with Stephen still on it. He starts to fall with the desks, but Jenny, Derrick, Jackson, Martin, Carrie, and his other friends grab his hand. In this case, survival and friendship are directly connected because his friends saved him from falling into the fire while saving the children and the books.
Another example that shows the theme is on page 255: Standing there as the school burned, that group of us drew together into a tight little band that felt as solid as iron. The houses could burn and the school could fall, but maybe together we'd survive.
Character Traits
The author uses many different varieties of characterization to show the main character's traits. Stephen is characterized when he asks Jenny as she is drawing him if she could make him look taller. This shows that Stephen is shorter than he wants to be. Also, Jenny does end up making him taller in the drawing, which makes him smile and shows that Jenny cares about him and wants to do something for her friend. That method of characterization is Stephen's thoughts, words, and actions, but also Jenny's thoughts, words, and actions (other character's thoughts, words, and actions).
Another example of characterization about Stephen is when his new friend Derrick is talking to him when he first comes to Settler's Landing. Derrick is trying to be friendly and hospitable, while Stephen is trying to figure out why someone would want to help someone they don't even know, as he has not had much experience around people other than his dad and grandpa. This is what happened on page 74:
When Derrick stood up again, he somehow had a plate of venison and potatoes in his hand. Where it came from, I had no idea, but when he held it out to me, the smell of it almost made me faint.
"Eat," he said. "Eat, my new and tiny little friend."
"What do you care if I eat or not?"
Derrick's grin froze.
"Just being friendly, man, that's all. You want it or not?" (page 74)
That method is showing other character's thoughts, words, and actions, and also Stephen's thoughts, words, and actions. The most frequent way the author shows the character's traits is through the thoughts, words, and actions of Stephen and the other characters.
Point of View
Why did we have to help those people? You said nothing would change. You promised!
I snapped my left hand closed, urging my fingers deep into the half-moons. A sharp thrill of pain shot up my arm and chased the thoughts away, clearing my head. Blood ran down my hand, but I didn't care. The pain was a relief. It was easier. (page 46)
This example shows Stephen's thoughts that he prefers the pain of his actions of digging his fingernails into his hands instead of his frustration over the fact that everything has changed, and that he thinks the pain is easier.
Another example is when Stephen arrives at the school in Settler's Landing for the first time, and the first time going to any school at all.
I had never seen so many people my own age in one place before. I marveled at their clean clothes and the way they coursed through the hall, full of purpose. As with the houses the day I came to town, I searched for any sign that these people had grown up in the same world I did, but found nothing.
As I studied them, I was being watched too. When I caught them looking, they'd wrinkle their noses before turning away to whisper to their friends. A girl in a gray skirt pointed out my ratty old coat and giggled. I faked like I was cold and pulled it tight around me, hoping to hide the rest of my clothes. (page 104)
This shows Stephen's thoughts about his first experience in a school. It also shows his actions of being ashamed and trying to hide his clothes so nobody can see how bad they look compared to theirs.
Dialogue
The second example of dialogue was also showing characterization. This time it shows Violet and Marcus trying to do the right thing, and Violet is mad and ashamed because she wants to help them, unlike another time in the past with the Krychek family, but Marcus won't let her. Violet is trying to be brave, but Marcus is afraid and he wants to make sure he stays safe in Settler's Landing instead of being banished from town along with Stephen and Jenny because of what they did.
Figurative Language
- one simile is when Stephen's dad tells him that he is just like his grandfather, who just passed away: "It hit me like a hammer in the chest." This shows that he doesn't want to be just like his grandfather, a person who was always on the move, never wanted to settle down, and was always being resourceful and never wasting supplies. Stephen just wants to be himself.
- one metaphor and one simile are use when Stephen and his dad did something that they knew his grandfather would call foolish and wasteful, and Stephen even says: "I heard Grandpa's voice, the ice-cold rasp of it, clear as day." This is important to the story because it shows that he is constantly thinking about his grandfather, even though he is dead and Stephen does not want to be just like him. Also, he is always considering what his grandfather would say about his actions and how wasteful they sometimes are.