Average Waves in Unprotected Waters – Flashcards
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Author?
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Anne Tyler
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Three main characters?
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Bet, Arnold, and Avery
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Describe Arnold physically.
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-knobby -great glassy eyes -fair hair -elderly face -thin-skinned (almost transparent)
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How old is Arnold?
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9
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What is Bet wearing?
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-flat-heeled loafers -worn beige knit dress -blue kerchief
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What was odd about the clothes Arnold and Bet were wearing today?
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They were too "nice" (unpatched, unfaded, and Sunday-worn)
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Describe Arnold's new jacket.
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-brown corduroy with a hood -cost half a week's salary
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What did Arnold moan, rock, and shake his head?
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He didn't want to put on his new jacket since he preferred his little red duffel coat he'd previously outgrown
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Who was at the entrance when Bet and Arnold were leaving and what did he/she have?
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Mrs. Puckett; a plastic bag of peanut butter cookies (Arnold's favorite)
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Who was Mrs. Puckett?
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Arnold's old babysitter who saw Bet and Arnold leave their apartment
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What did Bet buy at the train station?
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tickets and a pack of Wrigley's spearmint gum
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Why didn't Bet like giving Arnold gum?
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He sometimes swallowed it and she thought that it would clog his kidneys
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What was it odd that Arnold did as a baby?
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He had jittery, jerky catnaps and gave a strange single wail before he slept
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Who was Avery?
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Bet's previous husband and Arnold's father who left them after the doctor talked to them about Arnold
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How did Avery and Bet split the blame for Arnold's disorder?
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Halfway
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How did Bet imagine the "evil gene?"
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a dark little egg like a black jelly bean
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What were things Bet at times blamed for the condition of her son?
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-the father's genes -her genes -marrying too early against her parents' wishes
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Describe Bet's parents' home.
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-a green trailer on cinder blocks -near a forests of masts in Saltspray, Maryland
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What did Bet's father do for a living?
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ran a fishing boat for tourists
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What is the quote the title is named after?
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"Her father (who'd run a fishing boat for tourists) couldn't arrange his day till he'd heard the marine forecast-the wind, the tides, the small-craft warnings, the height of the average waves in unprotected waters."
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What did Bet's father try to teach her and why didn't she like it?
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bodysurfing; there was something about the breakers
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How far apart were the deaths of Bet's parents?
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Within a year of each other
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What did Bet do as solace when Avery left?
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Stayed in their apartment for months even though she couldn't pay the rent
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What are some things Bet points out to Arnold to prevent tantrums on the train?
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-cows -the hat with feathers on it -the red suitcase
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What was the song the conductor sang?
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Girl of my dreams. I love you.
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With whom did the conductor argue with and why?
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A tiny black lady in a purple coat with a fox fur piece biting its own tail around her neck; she snuck on the train through the washroom at Beulah
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What did the lady with the purple coat call the conductor and what did she sound like?
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Viper, Monger, and Hitler; a parrot
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How did Bet and Arnold react to the women screaming at the conductor?
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Bet winced while Arnold laughed
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What station did their train take them?
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Parkingsville Railroad Station
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To where did Bet and Arnold take a cab?
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Parkins State Hospital
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What did Bet tell the taxicab driver?
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To wait on her and not leave
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Why didn't Bet want to give Arnold a peanut-butter cookie?
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She wanted him to look his best
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Describe the lights in the hospital.
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chilly, hanging ice-cube-tray lights with a little flicker to them
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What did the hospital smell like?
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pine-oil disinfectant
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Describe the patients Bet and Arnold passed on the way to Arnold's room.
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fat, ugly women in shapeless gray dresses and ankle socks
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What was the only sign that children lived in Arnold's hospital room?
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a tiny cardboard clown picture
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How long do residents stay before family can visit them?
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6 months
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What is mother's name?
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Bet Blevins
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What did Bet leave Arnold in the hospital?
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His special blanket
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What train is Bet trying to catch on her way home?
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the twelve-thirty-two
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How late is the train going back home going to take to arrive to the station?
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20 minutes
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Who comes and talks in front of Bet at the train station and why?
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the mayor; to talk about the expansion of the old railway station
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How was the world going to be now for Bet at the end of the story?
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something on a stage
