joe

Book Group Test
The House of Dies Drear By Joe Pullman

Comment From Shirley: I liked your reasoning for keeping the title but also for changing the title. __The Tunnels__ would be an interesting title but there'e so much more to the story other than the tunnels.. You have written clearly with accurate facts and information. Take out the phrase in blue and tell me why...
 * 1) 1 I think the title of the book is great. It relates to the book because the whole book is based upon this house called __The House of Dies Drear__. This house and its tunnels were used for hiding and getting out of slavery. The house is an old house but the same time is big and beautiful. It has a caretaker named Pluto. I think the title suites the book because the setting of the book has to do with this legend about a man named Dies Drear who once lived in the house and then he died in it with two slaves. Also the tunnels and the cavern and how this family finds the history of this house and finds out that there are these people who want to steal the valuables from the cavern fit in with the title.The whole book is based upon the House of Dies Drear like I said early in this question . I would have chosen this title because if you’re talking about a house and it’s very mysterious then what else you would call it. You could call it __The Tunnels__ but that wouldn’t sound right. If you have a legend to this house, the house has a cavern filled with valuables and there are tunnels that lead around the house well of course you would name it that. I would not change this title. Also the house is mysterious because the towns’ people think the caretaker Mr. Pluto is the devil and he acts weird but later in the book I found out that Mr. Pluto wasn’t crazy.

This book was very well written and was a very good book. I recommend this to all!!!!!!
 * 1) 3 Mr. Pluto is to be known as the Devil! The town's people think he’s a devil because he acts strange and he doesn’t like being around people. Thomas didn’t like him at first in the book because he thought he was crazy and spooky. Mr. Pluto is the father of Mayhew and his last name is Skinner. Pluto has white hair and has piercing eyes. He’s as quite as a cat and is very serious. He is old and he soon gets sick. Thomas finds out that he is nice and is not a devil but I think he’s still a little crazy. He takes care of the house and takes care of the tunnels and cavern. He lives in the cavern and is a grandfather to Pesty. I think Pluto took the cavern and the house very maturely. He knew how to keep the treasure quite because if he spread the word more than one person would try to probably steel it. He even kept it quite from is own son. Trying to scare folks away from coming to house wasn’t the smartest idea but in a way to keep the house and the treasure safe it was worth it. He scared the Darrows very well and how he thought about how to scare them. Then he finally went to the hospital. Now he and Mr. Small will make a list of everything in the room.

Comment From Shirley:You have written clearly and well about this entire situation. Check out the blue phrases and see if you understand why I highlighted them. You obviously know these characters well.

Hey, Joe! I like how you were descriptive and well explained!!! :) - SAMMY
Remember to use commas because you have a few short sentances, so you can combine two short sentances together!!!!! user:alexaqeelAlexuser:alexaqeel**
 * Hey, Joe!!! I like how you used alot of details and explained in complete thoughts, and sentances!

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Emily 1. Although there can be many things in the chest I think what is inside is a list of everything in the cavern. There could also be a list of the names of the slaves who came through the tunnel system. No one has ever checked in the black chest so that makes it a good hiding spot. Also I think Dies Drear would have kept a list like this and hidden it. This could also be a hiding place for a triangle that a slave had found, like the ones Mr. Small found on his door and the ones Mayhew talked about. Maybe Dies Drear’s best art work could be in the chest or there could be a map of the whole tunnel system.

Schuyler 2. If I were in Thomas’ place I would be scared. Firstly, I would feel like I’m not making the right decision. I would let the police take care of it like Mrs. Small said earlier in the book. Secondly, I would be afraid of the Darrows. I would not know a lot about them but from what I heard It would be very scary to see the Darrows. Also staying in one position for a couple of hours and not being able to move or talk is difficult. I would feel that if I moved just slightly it would give the whole prank away and the Darrows would find me. I would be scared being in the darkness in a forest with bugs crawling all over me and the Darrows lurking through the forest.

Kenny: I think that it is interesting that you think that a big ist is inside the chest. It is a nice idea but I thought that there might be something larger in the chest.


 * Amelia: Joe, This answer is descriptive and informative. It doesn't drone on and on, but rather, it gets right to the point. Good Job!**

Alex: Joe, good answer right to the point and very descriptive and lots of details.

Sam: i agree i would be really scared! i hate bugs! :)

Week 3 Questions
1. I think the cavern that Thomas and Mr. Small found was the key to history. The cavern had belonged to Dies Drear. The cavern was barrel shaped with the vaulted ceilings. On all sides of the walls were tapestries and Persian carpets. There were torches grouped in the center of the cavern. The tapestries had lots of colors and textures. Between the rows were Indian artifacts such as canoes, totem poles, and wood chests. Piled on top were blankets with the same designs as on the chests. There were barrels filled with silks and embroidery materials, jewelry, watches, and chains of gold. One section of the wall was covered in glassware from aqua colored to deep brown and nearly black. The tapestries were hung from pale white oak cylinders which hung on chains suspended from hooks. There were books in great glass-doored cases. The Indian artifacts surprised me the most because I thought that the artifacts would be from the black slaves that stopped and rested at Dies Drear.

Kenny: Joe, I think that you described the cavern really well. I think you could have described how it was the key to history.

Alex: Good answer Joe...very detailed... I answered #3 on my page. I agree they did find the key to history...but I think that Mayhew was being a little greedy. Shirley: Hi Joe: You wrote a great answer that was clear and very interesting. I agree about the key to history but I wonder how Pluto got all of this treasure? So where do you think the Indian artifacts came from?

Sam: Very detailed! :)