Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl": A Discussion Guide
By David Bruce
5/5
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About this ebook
The purpose of this book is educational. I enjoy reading Jerry Spinelli’s "Stargirl," and I believe that it is an excellent book for young adults (and for middle-aged adults such as myself) to read.
This book contains many questions about Jerry Spinelli’s "Stargirl" and their answers. I hope that teachers of young adults will find it useful as a guide for discussions. It can also be used for short writing assignments. Students can answer selected questions from this little guide orally or in one or more paragraphs.
I hope to encourage teachers to teach Jerry Spinelli’s "Stargirl," and I hope to lessen the time needed for teachers to prepare to teach this book.
David Bruce
I would like to see my retellings of classic literature used in schools, so I give permission to the country of Finland (and all other countries) to give copies of my eBooks to all students and citizens forever. I also give permission to the state of Texas (and all other states) to give copies of my eBooks to all students forever. I also give permission to all teachers to give copies of my eBooks to all students forever.Teachers need not actually teach my retellings. Teachers are welcome to give students copies of my eBooks as background material. For example, if they are teaching Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” teachers are welcome to give students copies of my “Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’: A Retelling in Prose” and tell students, “Here’s another ancient epic you may want to read in your spare time.”Do you know a language other than English? I give you permission to translate any of my retellings of classic literature, copyright your translation in your name, publish or self-publish your translation (but do say it's a translation of something I wrote), and keep all the royalties for yourself.Libraries, download my books free. This is from Smashwords' FAQ section:"Does Smashwords distribute to libraries?"Yes! We have two methods of distributing to libraries: 1. Via library aggregators. Library aggregators, such as OverDrive and Baker & Taylor's Axis360 service, allow libraries to purchase books. Smashwords is working with multiple library aggregators, and is in the process of signing up additional aggregators. 2. On August 7, 2012, Smashwords announced Library Direct. This distribution option allows libraries and library networks to acquire and host Smashwords ebooks on their own servers. This option is only available to libraries who place large "opening collection" orders, typically in the range of $20,000-$50,000, and the libraries must have the ability to host and manage the books, and apply industry-standard DRM to manage one-checkout-at-a-time borrows."David Bruce is a retired anecdote columnist at "The Athens News" in Athens, Ohio. He has also retired from teaching English and philosophy at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.SOME BOOKS BY DAVID BRUCERetellings of a Classic Work of Literature:Arden of Favorsham: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Alchemist: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Arraignment, or Poetaster: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Case is Altered: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Catiline’s Conspiracy: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Epicene: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Every Man in His Humor: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Every Man Out of His Humor: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Fountain of Self-Love, or Cynthia’s Revels: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Magnetic Lady: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The New Inn: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Sejanus' Fall: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Staple of News: A RetellingBen Jonson’s A Tale of a Tub: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Complete Plays: RetellingsChristopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus: Retellings of the 1604 A-Text and of the 1616 B-TextChristopher Marlowe’s Edward II: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s The Rich Jew of Malta: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2: RetellingsDante’s Divine Comedy: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Inferno: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Purgatory: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Paradise: A Retelling in ProseThe Famous Victories of Henry V: A RetellingFrom the Iliad to the Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose of Quintus of Smyrna’s PosthomericaGeorge Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston’s Eastward Ho! A RetellingGeorge Peele: Five Plays Retold in Modern EnglishGeorge Peele’s The Arraignment of Paris: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s The Battle of Alcazar: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s David and Bathsheba, and the Tragedy of Absalom: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s Edward I: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s The Old Wives’ Tale: A RetellingGeorge-A-Greene, The Pinner of Wakefield: A RetellingThe History of King Leir: A RetellingHomer’s Iliad: A Retelling in ProseHomer’s Odyssey: A Retelling in ProseJason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ ArgonauticaThe Jests of George Peele: A RetellingJohn Ford: Eight Plays Translated into Modern EnglishJohn Ford’s The Broken Heart: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Fancies, Chaste and Noble: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Lady’s Trial: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Lover’s Melancholy: A RetellingJohn Ford’s Love’s Sacrifice: A RetellingJohn Ford’s Perkin Warbeck: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Queen: A RetellingJohn Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Campaspe: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Endymion, the Man in the Moon: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Gallathea, aka Galathea, aka Galatea: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Midas: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Mother Bombie: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Sappho and Phao: A RetellingJohn Lyly's The Woman in the Moon: A RetellingJohn Webster’s The White Devil: A RetellingJ.W. Gent.'s The Valiant Scot: A RetellingKing Edward III: A RetellingMankind: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)Margaret Cavendish's The Unnatural Tragedy: A RetellingThe Merry Devil of Edmonton: A RetellingRobert Greene’s Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay: A RetellingThe Taming of a Shrew: A RetellingTarlton’s Jests: A RetellingThomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s The Roaring Girl: A RetellingThomas Middleton and William Rowley’s The Changeling: A RetellingThomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside: A RetellingThomas Middleton's Women Beware Women: A RetellingThe Trojan War and Its Aftermath: Four Ancient Epic PoemsVirgil’s Aeneid: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 5 Late Romances: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 10 Histories: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 11 Tragedies: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 12 Comedies: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 1: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 2 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 2: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 1: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 2 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 2: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 3 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 3: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Coriolanus: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Cymbeline: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Hamlet: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Henry V: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s King John: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s King Lear: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Othello: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Richard II: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Richard III: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Two Noble Kinsmen: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: A Retelling in ProseChildren’s Biography:Nadia Comaneci: Perfect TenAnecdote Collections:250 Anecdotes About Music250 Anecdotes About Opera250 Anecdotes About Religion250 Anecdotes About Religion: Volume 2Be a Work of Art: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesThe Coolest People in Art: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in the Arts: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in Books: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in Comedy: 250 AnecdotesCreate, Then Take a Break: 250 AnecdotesDon’t Fear the Reaper: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Art: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Comedy: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Dance: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 4: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 5: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 6: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Movies: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Neighborhoods: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Relationships: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Sports: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Sports, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Theater: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People Who Live Life: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesMaximum Cool: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Religion: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Sports: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People Who Live Life: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesReality is Fabulous: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesResist Psychic Death: 250 AnecdotesSeize the Day: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesKindest People Series:The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 2The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 3Discussion Guide Series:Dante’s Inferno: A Discussion GuideDante’s Paradise: A Discussion GuideDante’s Purgatory: A Discussion GuideForrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree: A Discussion GuideHomer’s Iliad: A Discussion GuideHomer’s Odyssey: A Discussion GuideJane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Discussion GuideJerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee: A Discussion GuideJerry Spinelli’s Stargirl: A Discussion GuideJonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”: A Discussion GuideLloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron: A Discussion GuideLloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper: A Discussion GuideNancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind: A Discussion GuideNicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember: A Discussion GuideVirgil’s Aeneid: A Discussion GuideVirgil’s “The Fall of Troy”: A Discussion GuideVoltaire’s Candide: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Discussion GuideWilliam Sleator’s Oddballs: A Discussion GuideComposition Projects:Composition Project: Writing an Autobiographical EssayComposition Project: Writing a Hero-of-Human-Rights EssayComposition Project: Writing a Problem-Solving LetterTeaching:How to Teach the Autobiographical Essay Composition Project in 9 ClassesAutobiography (of sorts):My Life and Hard Times, or Down and Out in Athens, OhioMiscellaneous:Mark Twain Anecdotes and QuotesProblem-Solving 101: Can You Solve the Problem?Why I Support Same-Sex Civil MarriageBlogs:https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.comhttps://davidbrucebooks.blogspot.comhttps://davidbruceblog4.wordpress.comhttps://bruceb22.wixsite.com/website
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Reviews for Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl"
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Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl" - David Bruce
Preface
The purpose of this book is educational. I enjoy reading Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl, and I believe that it is an excellent book for young adults (and for middle-aged adults such as myself) to read.
This book contains many questions about Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl and their answers. I hope that teachers of young adults will find it useful as a guide for discussions. It can also be used for short writing assignments. Students can answer selected questions from this little guide orally or in one or more paragraphs.
I hope to encourage teachers to teach Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl, and I hope to lessen the time needed for teachers to prepare to teach this book.
This book uses many short quotations from Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl. This use is consistent with fair use:
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Release date: 2004-04-30
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
Source of Fair Use information:
This is a royalty-free book, and I will let anyone download it for free.
Introduction to Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl
Jerry Spinelli published Stargirl in the year 2000.
The character Stargirl is based in large part on Mr. Spinelli’s wife, Eileen, who is also an author.
Stargirl is a free spirit and a nonconformist who does good deeds.
Why would Mr. Spinelli write about a character such as Stargirl? He explains, If 100 people are running north in a herd and one is running south, which one are you going to want to read about?
(Source: John Micklos, Jr., Jerry Spinelli: Master Teller of Teen Tales, p. 79.)
Mr. Spinelli adds, It’s by the misfits among us that we measure ourselves. It’s what illuminates us. Anyway, they’re more interesting.
(Source: John Micklos, Jr., Jerry Spinelli: Master Teller of Teen Tales, pp. 79-80.)
The narrator of Stargirl is Leo Borlock, who appeared as a minor character in Mr. Spinelli’s earlier novel Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?
We cannot say that Leo Borlock wrote this book. Rather, we are entering Leo’s thoughts and seeing things from his point of view.
• Is Stargirl Caraway an appropriate name for this character?
Stargirl is a name that the character creates for herself. We discover in the novel that the name she was born with is Susan (her middle name is Julia), and we discover in the novel that as she was growing up she created other names for herself, including Pocket Mouse
(33).
The name Caraway
contains these two words: care
and away.
Put them together, and you have care away.
Certainly, Stargirl is often a carefree girl. It is as if her cares have been taken away. But it is also true that Stargirl does have cares — aka problems and concerns — just like all of us do. Stargirl also cares deeply about other people. Their sadness can make her sad.
The name Caraway
also contains these two words: car
and away.
Put them together, and you have car away.
Our American society is deeply dependent on cars. Take away cars, and our American society would be very different. (The same is true of television, and we learn later that Stargirl has no television in her home.) In addition, a car is a form of transportation to a different place.
• Is Leo Borlock an appropriate name for this character?
The name Borlock
contains three words: boor,
bore,
and lock.
A boor is a rude person with bad manners.
A bore is a boring person.
The word lock
can mean to lock something or someone up.
All three of these words are negative.
Leo
is often used as a name for a lion. The use of Leo
as the name for Leo Borlock may be ironic.
Porcupine Necktie
• What is a narrator?
A narrator is a teller of a story. In this novel, Leo Borlock, a student at Mica Area High School in Arizona, is the narrator.
Apparently, what we are reading in Stargirl is Leo Borlock’s memories. Apparently, we are not meant to suppose that we are reading a book — a memoir — that Leo Borlock wrote.
In this novel, Leo Borlock is not a writer. Rather, this character is meant to be a human being. In the final section and in the epilogue of the novel, titled More Than Stars,
we learn that Leo Borlock has graduated from high school and college, and that he is an adult now. In the novel, we read his memories of Stargirl.
• The narrator of Stargirl is Leo Borlock. What do we learn about him in this section of the novel?
Leo Borlock is a transplant to Arizona. When he was 12 years old, his family left Pennsylvania and moved to Arizona.
Leo did like one unusual thing when he was a child. His Uncle Pete had an unusual necktie: one with a porcupine on it.
Leo decided to start a porcupine necktie collection, but unfortunately he was unable to find any porcupine neckties, so after two years he still had a collection of exactly one porcupine necktie.
• What good deeds do we see in this section of the novel?
We see two good deeds, each involving a porcupine necktie.
Uncle Pete gives Leo his porcupine necktie as a going-away present when Leo’s family moves him to Arizona.
After the local newspaper mentions that Leo collects porcupine neckties as part of a regular feature about kids on their birthdays
(2), he receives a porcupine necktie as a gift from an anonymous good-deed doer. The gift comes with a message: Happy Birthday!
(2). Obviously, the anonymous giver of the porcupine necktie is clever. The anonymous giver was able to obtain a porcupine necktie quickly although Leo was unable to find one after two years of looking for one.
• What is your opinion of the ending of Porcupine Necktie
?
The ending of Porcupine Necktie
is excellent. It will keep the reader reading:
At the time I simply considered the episode a mystery. It did not occur to me that I was being watched. We were all being watched. (2)
Chapter 1: Section 1
• What kind of an impact does Stargirl make on the students of Mica High School on her first day of school?
She makes an immediate impact. Students start talking about her. They are wondering who she is.
Leo Borlock arrives at school on the first day of 11th grade. We find out later that he is 16 years old. Stargirl is a sophomore, so she is probably 15 years old. Immediately, Leo hears, Did you see her?
(3). Leo continues to hear that question throughout the day.
Finally, he sees her at lunch. Stargirl makes an impression at lunch.
• What do we find out about Stargirl Caraway in Section 1?
Stargirl is one grade behind Leo. She is in the 10th grade.
Stargirl brings her lunch to school instead of buying lunch from the school cafeteria.
Stargirl carries a bag that is decorated with art: a painting of a life-size sunflower
(4).
Stargirl carries a ukulele, which she plays in the cafeteria.
No one sits by Stargirl in the cafeteria on her first day of school. Everybody seems to be talking about her and looking at her.
• Which song does Stargirl sing on her first day of high school?
Stargirl sings I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover
on her ukulele.
I’M LOOKING OVER A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER
Words by Mort Dixon, music by Harry Woods
Written in 1927 — popularized in 1948 by Art Mooney
I’m looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before.
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.
No need explaining, the one remaining
Is somebody I adore.
I’m looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before
Jerry Spinelli carefully chose that song. What do we learn about Stargirl from that song now? We learn that Stargirl is familiar with and likes old music. This song was written in the Roaring Twenties, and it became popular in the 1940s.
After you have finished reading the novel, look again at these lyrics. Why do you suppose that Jerry Spinelli chose to have Stargirl sing this particular song? We note the references to these things:
sunshine
: happiness?
rain
: sadness?
roses that grow in the lane
: happiness in great quantities?
somebody I adore
: a loved one, who may or may not reciprocate with love (but note that four-leaf clovers are thought to be lucky)
looking over a four-leaf clover
: looking at something good
a four-leaf clover
/ That I overlooked before
: not noticing something good earlier
Note that some of the lyrics may apply to Stargirl, while other lyrics may apply to Leo. After you read the novel, ask yourself who is looking over something good that the person overlooked before.
• What is a ukulele? Is it a cool
musical instrument? What makes an instrument cool or uncool?
Leo at first thinks that the ukulele is a miniature guitar
(4).
A ukulele is a lot like a small guitar with (usually) four strings. It comes from Hawaii, where Hawaiians saw guitars and then created their own versions of the instrument.
Chances are, ukuleles are uncool these days, except perhaps in Hawaii.
What makes a musical instrument cool or uncool? Probably majority opinion, and probably opinion makers. If the popular kids in a school dislike something, probably lots of kids will dislike that thing, too. If enough kids think that something is uncool, then it is uncool.
The danger with this is that some things get rejected that ought not to be rejected. A musician named Lost
John Hutchison lives in Athens, Ohio. (He does not care much for the nickname Lost,
as he can’t see why such an obviously altogether person as himself ever got that nickname.) For a long time, he did not play the accordion, which is probably an uncool musical instrument these days — whoever heard of a hard-rock accordion player
? (Of course, Opus the Penguin, a creation of comic-strip artist Berkeley Breathed of Bloom County fame, did play