Terry Kay’s The Year the Lights Came On

Reading Analysis

*Make complete sentences as you answer questions with asterisk.

1) What do the “Our Side” kids think will eradicate the superior and prejudiced attitudes of the “Hwy. 17 Gang”? _______________________

2) Why don’t the kids, particularly those who live on the “right side” of Hwy. 17, like Shirley and Walter Weems? ______________________________________ What is the “punishment” that Principal Wade Simmons exacts on Our Side for starting the fight? _______________________________________________ How does Mr. Simmons really feel about Our Side’s c___________________

3) *“What does Wesley mean when he says, “Truth is, there ain’t one dab of real difference between us. It’s what you think, and what I think, that makes us different” (52).

4) What particular talent does the gangly and awkward Alvin Bond have? _______

How do the kids feel about Alvin prior to discovering his “talent”? ____________

5) Why does Freeman Boyd light out for Blackpool Swamp? __________________

What happens to Freeman in the swamp? ______________________________

How do the townsfolk of Emory help with Freeman’s legal dilemma? __________

6) *What are the larger ramifications of Baptist’s assertion to the boys: “But there’s one thing you ain’t learned about, and that’s people’s mean. . . People are me-e-e-e-ean, boys? . . . Freeman knows about meanness” (210).

Bonus 5pts.: *What does the narrator Colin mean in the epilogue when he says: “We are easily deceived. The R.E.A. changed our lives. The R.E.A. made us more comfortable. The R.E.A. also destroyed us” (285). Discuss the ramifications—both individual and communal—of Colin’s comments.