Page 20 - Point 5 Literature Program Option 1 Teachers Guide (2) (1)

noticeable that respect is very important to him. We will see that this desire for respect motivates
a great deal of his behavior.

next, we are given the family setting – the mother is dead, the family is poor and his father and
sister Sophie have low paying, working-class jobs. We also learn that the story takes place in New
York.We are then told how George spends his hot summer days. The interesting thing to notice
is that alongside the many ‘wasteful’ activities mentioned, george likes to read the World
Almanac – a kind of mini-encyclopedia. This suggests that he is actually hungry for knowledge
and capable of learning – an important fact to remember.
His first dialogue with sophie continues this focus on the issue of reading. His response shows
that somewhere inside of himself he knows he should be reading good books.

george’s evening walks set the scene for meetings with his antagonist, Mr. Cattanzara.

excellent examples of descriptive writing – the sultry days, the thick, broken sidewalks, the people
in front of their shops, fanning themselves – paint a vivid picture of the kind of neighborhood
where many people lived on top of their shops, where the public areas are neglected and
there is no relief from the oppressive heat inside the home. This is a neighborhood of poor,
hardworking people. it is also a neighborhood that george does not feel very connected to: but
nobody recognized each other.
The darkly lit little park is another world – a world that is different and better than his
neighborhood – a place he can escape to when he does not want to confront reality. While
he sees his neighborhood as stony, ugly and public (everyone sitting outside), the park is
elegant, with leafy trees and flowers blooming. it is private, a place where he can think about
a better life for himself – where he can dream. His dreams are not wild fantasy, just an
attainable step up from where he is now – a good job, a private house on a street with trees,
some dough, a girl, people to like and respect him.

Although it is not mentioned in the text, the reader can understand that the key to this better
future is more education – more reading.

Part II

Readers are now introduced to Mr. Cattanzara. He also has a simple job, but we notice that
although we might expect him to read the ‘simpler’ papers such as the News and the Mirror
like sophie does, he actually reads the New York Times newspaper from cover to cover – the
equivalent, perhaps, of George and the World Almanac. This suggestion that Mr. Cattanzara has
unused potential is reinforced by George’s perception that Mr. Cattanzara was different and asked
different questions. Mr. Cattanzara’s quiet drunkenness also suggests that he is not very happy
with his life – a boring job and a wife who is content to spend her time staring out of the window.
In other words, just as George has his little park, Mr. Cattanzara has alcohol as his escape from
reality, when he is not burying himself in reading the newspaper.

in the first dialogue between hero and antagonist, we note that george’s first reaction to a very
neutral question is to feel embarrassed. He is the one to mention reading as a way to further his
education – with no prompting from Mr. Cattanzara, and he elaborates on his lie because he wants
Mr. Cattanzara to respect him. Note how this theme of wanting respect appears again and again.

Although George knows that he should be doing exactly what he told Mr. Cattanzara, he

20 A summer’s reAding