COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS for
by Isaac Marion
This work was created for educational purposes only as a comprehension companion guide for Isaac Marion’s The New Hunger.
This EnglishCaddy™ Document was created by Gregg Robert Salters and is available for free through ENGLISHCADDY PUBLICATIONS Strasbourg, France 2014
Comprehension Questions for Warm Bodies by IsaacMarion by Gregg R. Salters is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. . To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. To obtain copies of this document visit www.EnglishCaddy.org
The 2010 Vintage Books Paperback Edition of The New Hunger (ISBN: 978-0-099-58772-9) was used as reference in the creation of this comprehension companion and can be purchased at www.vintage-books.co.uk or at most major booksellers.
“There is not really such a thing as “good” or “bad” people, there’s just like ... humanity. And it gets broken sometimes.”… p.139 The New Hunger is the prequel to Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, and, as will all prequels should normally be read after the principle work. However, this may be one of the rare exceptions. In this volume, Mr. Marion presents a complete story with very little dependence on his first opus and can therefore be read as a kind of “part 1” in the series. But, because some knowledge (although little) of Warm Bodies is necessary when reading The New Hunger, it is recommended that you read the books in the order in which they were written to fully enjoy the details of the world created by Mr. Marion. The New Hunger is presented in three distinct story lines all converging to an emotional and geographical point. We follow Nora, her brother Addis struggling for survival after being abandoned by their parents: , Julie and her parents on the road looking for a place to survive and; ,three unnamed characters trying to understand what survival means. The narrative emotionally documents the prehistories of the main characters of Warm Bodies as well as explores the meaning of existence and what they would be willing to do to maintain it. Why study The New Hunger? Because it’s a good book, and if you are a fan of Warm Bodies, The New Hunger will offer you valuable insight as to how the main characters came to be who they are. Although Perry is noticeably absent you understand most of his history through the flashbacks in Warm Bodies. Also any exploration of zombies is truly an exploration of us. The questions you should ask yourself is “What would I do in such a situation?” or “Which are the characters I can most relate to?” If you keep these questions in mind during your reading of zombie literature, you will not only explore humanity, you will explore yourself. How to proceed: Simply read each chapter for as thorough an understanding as possible (paying special attention to vocabulary, expressions, slang and grammar. along the way.) Then once you’ve completed the chapter answer the corresponding questions in the book. Answering the questions should be easy, but if you find questions that are difficult, simply go back to that chapter and reread wherever necessary so that you can easily respond to the question. All answers are in the novel. You may write your responses in this booklet, or you may want to create your own The Fault in Our Stars Reading Journal. There are many blank writing journals available for sale ranging from simple to fancy. The most important! The most important thing is to enjoy what you read. If you are a zombie enthusiast this book is perfect for you and you’ll find it’s very easy to become engrossed in Isaac Marion’s “post-zombie-apocalyptic” world. So immerse yourself in English and see what it’s like to fall in love through the eyes of a zombie! Other books by Isaac Marion:
Warm Bodies Boarded Windows The Hungry Mouth
Visit Mr. Marion’s site at: www.isaacmarion.com/
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24
2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 13 13 14 14 16 16
List of main characters Addis Nora Mr. & Mrs. Grigio Julie The Tall Man The Big Man The Woman 1
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 1 1. What change has the man gone through? (pp. 1-2)
2. How many bodies are in the scene? (p. 2)
3. Where is he going to go? (p. 3)
Vocabulary: To drift (p.1)
Onlooker (p.1) To ease (p.3)
Chapter 2 1. Who is older, Nora or Addis? What key word on page 4 tells you this? (p.4)
2. What request does Addis make that breaks the “blackmail� deal? (p. 6)
3. What does Nora notice about her brother? (p.7)
4. Where do they take refuge? (pp.7&8)
Vocabulary: Blackmail (p.5)
Scowl (p.6) Makeshift (p.8) 2
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 3 1. Where are Julie and her parents headed? (p.10)
2. Why does Julie’s father believe there won’t be any art galleries at their destination? (p.11)
3. Why couldn’t the Grigio family get passed the border guards? (pp.14-15)
4. What has Julie’s life been like thus far? (p.17)
Vocabulary: Headed Cold sweat (p.10)
Lawn (p.11) Quaint (p.11) To blackout (p.17)
3
Poise (p.17)
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 4 1. What has happened to the world’s oceans and coastlines? (p.19)
2. When did Nora last eat? (p.21)
3. Why do we see solar panels everywhere even though there’s been an apocalypse? (pp.22-23)
What advantage does this offer?
Vocabulary: To wonder (p. 18) To bargain (p.18)
Loaf (p.21) To shrug off (p.22)
Chapter 5 1. What is the man learning to do and why does he have to learn to do this? (pp.24-25)
Vocabulary: To flap (p.25)
To sip (p.25) Hollowness (p.26)
4
Mildew (p.26)
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 6 1. To what has the sign “Welcome to Bellingham” been changed to read? (p.27)
2. What request of Julie does her father grant? (p.28)
3. Who is Nikki? (pp.27-28)
4. Why did Julie’s father grant Julie’s request? (p.30)
5. Why did Julie’s family leave New York (p.31)
Vocabulary: To grant
To swerve (p.29) To stick together (p.31)
Chapter 7 1. At the opening of the chapter, what are Addis and Nora looking for? (p.33)
2. Why aren’t they happy with the found they found in the restaurant’s freezers? (p.36)
3. How did their luck change? (p.37)
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Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
4. What makes Nora suspect that they’re not alone? (p. 38)
5. What causes the view to change in the restaurant? (p.40)
6. At the end of this chapter, where are Nora and Addis going to go? (p.43)
Vocabulary: Hardware store (p.32) Bloodlust (p.33) To ransack (p.33)
Looter (p.34) To bow (p.34) Bittersweet (p.38) Goosebumps (p.41)
Mound (p.42)
Chapter 8 1. How is Julie’s mother dressed? (p.45)
2. What does Julie love about the way her mother dresses? (p.45)
3. What happens to Julie’s mother’s clothes and how does her mom react? (p.47)
Vocabulary: Truck stop (p.44) To crouch (p.45) ID (p.45)
6
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 9 In this chapter the tall man is trying to deal with and understand something referred to as “it” or “the brute.” In your own words define “it.”
Vocabulary: Mindless (p.48) Mossy (p.48)
Chapter 10 1. Why does Nora ask the “thing” under the tablecloth to tap twice? (pp.51-52)
2. Why do you think Nora asks Addis to wait outside of the bathroom? (p.54)
3. What causes Nora to run? (p.54)
4. Nora sees a silhouette, whose do you think it is? (p.56)?
Vocabulary:
Gaping (p.50) Gingerly (p.53)
7
Sag (p.56)
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 11 1. What two pieces of advice does the “it” give the tall man? (p.58)
2. How does the tall man now refer to the “it” the “new urges”? (p.59)
Vocabulary:
Warp (p.57) To barter (p.58)
Brisk (p.59)
Chapter 12 1. What time of day is it at the beginning of this chapter? What tells you this?
2. According to Nora, why is a “bad” neighborhood better in the new world? (p.62)
3. How does Nora find a gun in the gun shop? (p.64)
4. What does Nora do 6 times in 6 different ways once inside the motel room? (p.65)
5. Why are Nora and Addis’ parents “mean”? (p.66) 8
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Vocabulary: Glob (p.60) To hotwire (p.60)
Seedier (p.61) To loot (p.62) To hiss (p.69)
To Numb (p.67)
Chapter 13 1. Why do you think that Julie’s mother doesn’t want to listen to the radio? (pp.69-70)
2. What does Julie’s question: “Is Seattle exed?” mean? (p.71)
3. What are two comparisons used by the author to describe Carbtein? (p.72)
4. Enditol is a brand name for what product? (p.73) What is the play on words in the name? 5. What do we learn about Seattle from the radio station 90.3? (pp.74-75)
6. Where did Julie’s parents meet? (p.75)
7. According to Julie’s mother, what changed when the world changed? (p.75)
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Vocabulary: To hiss (p.69) Broadcast (p.70)
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion Redbox (the name of an A commercial (p.73) automated DVD distributer in To huddle (p.74) the U.S.) Dented (p.76) Chatter (p.70)
Chapter 14 1. Whom does the tall man see through the gap in the bushes? (clue: earbuds) (pp.77-79)
2. What do you think the “brute” is telling the tall man to do with what he saw through the bushes? (pp.77-78)
Vocabulary:
Gap (p.77)
Chapter 15 1. During the flashback, Nora gives us some reasons that she goes to the community center. What do her parents do that cause her to want to go play volleyball? (p.80)
2. What reasons do you think Nora didn’t kill the man outside of the hotel room?” (pp.83-86)
3. Why do Nora and Addis head to Seattle? (p.87)
Vocabulary: To volley (p.80) Aloft (p.80)
Curtains (p.83) A war vet (p.86)
10
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 16 1. The man finally gets the “brute” to reveal what it wants. What does it reveal? (p.89)
2. What 3 things did the man try in order to satisfy the “brute’s” desire? (pp.89-91)
What were the results?
3. When his memories of what a city is returns to him, the man has images of “People ... sticking bottles in their mouths and metal things in their arms.” What does this say about the people he knew? (p.91)
4. Among the images that come back to him, which one is personal? (pp.91-92)
Vocabulary: To barter (p.88)
Moth (p.89) Smirk (p.89)
To wrench (p.90)
Chapter 17 1. Why can Nora see the two zombies that are following at such a great distance? (pp.94-95)
2. What is different about Auntie Shirley, and what explanation is given? (pp.96-97) 11
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion 3. Explain the metaphoric passage: “That he will find a way to bathe in the poison without letting it inside.” in the context of the chapter (p.98)
4. Explain how, ‘Nora being devoured by wolves in a city park’ is ironic. (pp.100-101)
5. What does Nora say to the man who saved her? (pp.102-103)
Vocabulary: Leftovers (p.95)
Airstream trailer (p.96) Thoroughfare (p.97)
Chapter 18 1. How do you think the “Alphabet Game” is played? (p.104)
2. Why did Julie’s father suddenly stop the Tahoe? (p.106)
3. In this chapter, what does Julie do that here mother finishes? (pp.108+109)
Vocabulary: Pothole (p.105)
To hum (p.105) Median (p.110)
Smoulder (p.107) 12
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 19 1. Upon entering the city, what does “the man” find pleasing? (p.111)
2. What ability does he feel a loss for? (p.112)
3. Who do you think the “big man” is? (p.114)
4. What does the “tall man” learn in this chapter?
Vocabulary: To resume (p.112)
To sway (pp.114 & 115) Frenzy (p.117)
To bellow (p.117)
Chapter 20 1. What is different about the empty police station that disappoints Nora? (p.121)
2. Who is Ababa Germane? (p.123)
3. What was his career and what caused it to end? (p.123)
4. How does Carbtein work? (pp.125-126)
13
Vocabulary: Auspicious (p.121)
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion To resent (p.123) To mutter (p.128) Cramped (p.124)
Chapter 21 1. In relation to all of the previous chapters, what is different about this one? (pp.129-130)
Vocabulary: To slaver (p.130)
A stump (p.130)
Chapter 22 1. What is one of the side effects of an all Carbtein diet? (pp.131-132)
2. Look up the definition for the word ‘foreshadowing’ in the dictionary, then find an example of this literary tool on page 132 (between the 1st and 20th chapters if you have a different edition). Write your response here. (p.132)
3. What can be said of Nora and art? (p.134)
4. According to Addis, what did his mom say was bad for kids? (pp.136-137) 14
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion 5. Nora tells Addis that she doesn’t know why their parents left them. True (or) False (pp. 138-139) 6. In general, how does Addis feel about his parents? (pp. 139-140)
7. What does Nora “lose” and to whom? (p.146)
8. Describe Nora’s state of mind. Why does she giggle? (p.147)
9. What happens with the skeletons they encountered in the living room? (p.148)
10. The change in the “big man” denotes the climax of this story line. What changed in the “big man”? (pp.151-152)
Vocabulary: Sheen (p.132) Lungful (p.136)
To dread (p.137) To whine (p.140) Shrubbery/Hedge (pp.142 & 143)
15
Knuckle (p.147) To pummel (p.149)
Comprehension Questions for The new hungEr By Isaac Marion
Chapter 23 1. Who does Julie see on the overpass? (pp.154-156)
2. What does Julie tell her to do? (pp.156-157)
3. Who does the “tall man” believe Julie is talking to? (p.159)
4. Why don’t the “tall man”, the “big man” and the “boy” continue following the “tall girl”? (p.151)
5. What happened to the emotions felt by the “tall man” after he heard Julie shout “You’re not dead.”?
Vocabulary: To bulldoze (p.154)
Brim (p.154) To stiffen (p.157)
Chapter 24 1. What does Nora resolve to do with her life? (pp.164-165)
“Nothing is permanent!”
Vocabulary:
To gather (p.164) 16
To hammer down (p.160) Murky (p.162)
MY Thoughts on The new hungEr By Isaac Marion Good job! You have successfully completed all of the questions. Connecting to the story of this book is important, so take some time and write down your initial feelings after having finished the book.