06 To Know the Past


Vocabulary
exuberance – high spirits
exulted – rejoiced greatly
gauntness – thin
haunch – the part of the body including the hip, buttock and thigh
putridness – decomposed; rotten and foul-smelling
reconnoiter – came back together; regrouped

  1. Why do Granma and Granpa want Little Tree to know about the history of the Cherokees?
  2. What is the Trail of Tears? How do the Cherokee keep their “souls” while they are on the trail?
  3. How did Granpa meet his wife?
  4. Why does Granpa’s father join with John Hunt Morgan, the Confederate Raider?
  5. Briefly describe the marriage stick. Explain its use.
  6. Carter often uses descriptions of nature as a metaphor for the characters in the story. Find a passage in this chapter where he describes nature and at the same time is describing Granpa’s father.