Easter Rising
By Michael Patrick MacDonald
Comments -
1. "They say the guy was a snitch," Kevin said, "and Whitey got wind of it." "No one ever asked how Whitey got wind of it. " No one ever asked how Whitey got wind of anything, but one thing was for sure, nothing could happen in Southie that our gangster boss Whitey Bulger didn't know about.
2. But as we approached the Lenox I heard a voice from behind me. "Mike, what the Christ are you doing out of school?" Ma, of all people, was in Copley, of all places!
3. Even though I was underage, I was becoming an expert at getting in "by hook or by crook," as they said in Southie.
4. I tried to focus again when I heard, "What's up with your family and roofs? I was so distracted though, I didn't know who said it.
5. I told Reme quickly, my sistrer went off the roof." I wanted to keep walking, so I wouldn't have to answer any more questions about it.
Questions -
1.Why did Michael's mother allow her children to steal and bring the strolen items into the house?
2. What made the kids in Southie like Michael's brothers have so much respect for mobsters like Whitey Bulger?
3. Why didn't Michael's mother try to get him to achieve more in school?
4. Why did Mrs. MacDonald give Michael a different last name than his actual father's name?
Vocabulary -
1. Armageddon - page 69 any great and crucial conflict
2. entaranced - page 75 to fill with delight or wonder; enrapture.
3. hemorrhaging - page 81 a profuse discharge of blood, as from a ruptured blood vessel; bleeding.
Literary Terms -
1. Setting - The Rathskellar club in Kenmore Square, Southie/ Old Colony Projects.
2. Exposition - This chapter starts out in Kenmore Square with Michael trying to sneak into a club and discovering his brother Frankie is the bouncer. Although his brother allows him to sneak into the club whenever he wants, he forbids him from telling anyone they are related because he is embarrassed by him.
Outline -
Michael works very hard to keep his new friends from finding out about his neightborhood. He learns meny ways to sneak into clubs to see New Wave concerts. He also begins to skip school to meet up with his friends in Copley Square. Then one day he gets caught by his mother and her boyfriend and he becomes too afraid to skip, until his sister falls or is pushed from the same roof Davey fell from.