Lit Circle Assignment 1

1a)  "He had built the house himself-poured the foundation, raised the frame, joined the pipes, run the wires, plastered the walls, and painted the room."(2) This quotation reveals the history behind the house that George, the main character, was going to die in, due to his sickness.  This house represents Georges life, as just like George, it is now falling apart.  The quote is also important to setting as it is the location where George and his family are whenever the story is not following his memories.

b) "When he imagined inside the case of that clock,  dark and dry and hollow, and the still pendulum hanging down its length, he felt the inside of his own chest and had a sudden panic that it, too, had wound down"(52)  This quotation is this first time in the book that George realizes that he realizes that he is going to die.  The quotation also shows how important the clocks are to George, as up to this point, clocks only seemed to be Georges' hobby and occupation,

2a) Clocks play a major role throughout the story for George.  He not only extensively explains about how he used to fix clocks, but also uses clocks as a way to represent his own life throughout the novel. 

b) The wagon that Georges' father Howard drives is the basis of all the stories George tells about Howard.  Howard was never away from his wagon, with his whole life style revolving around who and when he would need to bring the wagon to sell his items.  Outside of his day job, he would also use the wagon to bootleg whiskey.  Howard also uses the wagon as a tool to escape from his family.

c) A wood block is used by George to prevent Howard from biting his tongue while he was having seizures.  Throughout  the story, George refers to the wood block whenever he is remembering a negative aspect of his father.  When George was placing the wood block into his mouth one time, he was bitten.

d) Georges' family uses a dining table as make shift hospital bed for George to lie on.  There use of a dining table shows that George lives in older times or in a rural area.  The whole story is told by George while he is on this table.