The Graveyard Book - Discuss Chapters 5 and 6

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Here we’ll be sharing our thoughts on chapters 5 and 6 of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I’ve provided some discussion questions below to give you a place to start but please feel free to do your own thing.

If you include specifics about the plot, please remember to use spoiler tags to avoid spoiling it for someone who might have clicked on this post by mistake. You can do this by typing

Code: Select all

[spoiler] around your text[/spoiler]

Chapter 5:
Did you like the way the author built a sense of anticipation throughout this chapter?
Do you enjoy traditions or do you get impatient with old customs like the Lady Mayoress did while she was cutting the flowers?
Have you ever experienced an odd sense of déjà vu like the lady with the baby did while she was listening to the music and remembering Christmases with her aunt? Was it a false sense or a true one?

Interlude:
What do you think ‘the man jacks’ are? Supernatural creatures, a secret society or both? Or perhaps something quite different.

Chapter 6:

Bod breathed in deeply. He said, 'It doesn't have to be now. Not if you don't want to.' He said it as easily as he could, but his heart was thudding in his chest.

Why do you think Bod said this to Silas when the topic of where he (Bod) came from up?
Do you think you would also have wanted to go to a living school if you were in Bod’s position?
Think about the way Bod instructs Paul to deal with the bullies and what it might say about the way growing up in a Graveyard has impacted how he views things.

[Harry Walles]

• Chapter 5

I do like the way the anticipation was built in this chapter because it made the story much more interesting. I do like the old traditions because they give me a sense of belonging. I did experience a very odd deja vu when one day I had a feeling I already went through that day and I knew what someone will do or say and it turned out to be true with people doing exactly what I have expected.

• Interlude

I think that 'the man jacks' are a group of supernatural creatures who are willing to commit horrendous crimes for the sake of doing it.

• Chapter 6

I think Bod said it to encourage Silas to say anything about his past and let him know he will question him about it again at some point. If I were in Bod's position, I would not want to go to living school because I would know I wouldn't fit in there. I think when it comes to how Bod instructed Paul to deal with the bullies, shows that the growing up in a Graveyard taught him to always stand up for yourself and never let bad people win.

[Louis Walles]

Chapter 5

I did like way the author built a sense of anticipation throughout this chapter. I also really like the old traditions because it gives me the opportunity to learn more about the culture and history of my neighbourhood. I have never had a proper serious deja vu other than a few simple recoinings that what someone has done was already completed in the past.

Interlude

I believe that the man jacks are indeed supernatural creatures (who scare me very much as well).

Chapter 6

I agree with Harry; I think Bod said it to make Silas aware he won't drop the topic even in the future. I would not go to living school if I was Silas because I would be scared of Jack. I think the Bod's advice on how to deal with bullies shows that Bod was taught to always believe in himself and reason with someone to solve any situation.

[Emily Spencer]

Chapter 5

As Harry pointed out, I do like the way that the author built a sense of foreboding in this chapter, as it made the story all the more interesting. The interaction between the living and the dead during the Macabray brought a new dimension to the whole story, as it rather pointedly reminded the reader that even though Bod resided in the graveyard, he was still counted as one of the living and not among the ranks of the dead. I think this was the first time that Bod realized it, too.

Unlike the Lady Mayoress, I am a great lover of traditions. It gives me a sense of connection with my ancestors or things that have come before me, and that is oddly a great comfort. It makes me feel like a part of a bigger whole if that makes any sense at all.

I have indeed felt several moments like this during my lifetime. One of the strongest was during a recent vacation to Maine. My husband and I decided to charter a working lobster boat and spend the day as one of the crew. Mind you, I have never been to Maine, have never met these people, and have certainly never gone lobstering. But it seemed so very natural and familiar as if I had been doing it my whole life. Put it this way, I am severely (to the point of being paranoid) afraid of birds. Suffice it to say that my reaction to them is not good..at all. And yet, on the boat, there were seagulls flying all around us and it didn't bother me at all. Again, it was as if I had been there a thousand times and they were merely a part of things. Odd, I know. I have no way of knowing it was a true or false moment, but I would like to think it was true.


Interlude

I think that 'the man jacks' are a group of supernatural creatures who are willing to commit horrendous crimes for the sake of doing it.

I couldn't put it any better if I tried! I think of them as a supernatural goon squad, if you will.


Chapter 6

I agree with Harry and Louis on this one. I think Bod was letting Silas know that even though he would be willing to drop it, for now, the topic would be brought up again in the future.

No, I would not have wanted to go to living school. I would have been quite content to continue my education in the graveyard as I had been doing thus far. The lessons were both interesting and practical, and what better way to learn history than from the very people who had lived it?!

I think Bod's advice to Paul on how to deal with bullies shows a lot about his growing up in the graveyard and the lessons he had been taught there. He had been taught to stand up for yourself and your morals, and also to use your wits when necessary. I believe that Bod, free from normal 'human' constraint, had learned quite well how to stand his ground. Also, when one has faced ghouls and other unsavory creatures and lived to tell of it, it tests one's mettle as Bod has proven.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Chapter 5:
Neil Gaiman is awesome at building up a sense of anticipation. He's also awesome at building up a sense of terror ...

Traditions are nifty; well, mostly they are nifty. It depends on what they are and why they are done.I particularly like how the ghosts do NOT talk about it the next day with Nobody. The dead do not talk with the living about it. Also, just like the dancing the previous night, it's a matter-of-fact thing that the dead are dead and Bod is alive.

I've often felt déjà vu. The sense of 'this has happened before' ...
Sometimes I dream about things happening, where and when and what, and then it happens the next day. That's not quite déjà vu, though, I think.


Interlude:
What do you think ‘the man jacks’ are? Supernatural creatures, a secret society or both? Or perhaps something quite different.

I hadn't thought about what they are until I read the question. I just sort of accepted them, their presence, in the story as part of the story. Now, thinking about it, I think they are a collection of entities who have a commonality of purpose. I like what Harry wrote - "I think that 'the man jacks' are a group of supernatural creatures who are willing to commit horrendous crimes for the sake of doing it." I feel that their motto might be "Evil, be thou my good."

Chapter 6:
Bod wants to know about his history. I think he's partly worried about what he will find out, but the desire for truth is stronger than his fear. So, while he might be willing to wait, he feels ripe to have the knowledge, now.

I would want to go to a 'living' school if I was in Bod's position. I think that I'd have made noises about it before he did, though. I'd want to find out what it is like to be amongst others who are 'living'. I don't know how long, though, I'd want to attend the 'living' school. I feel that I'd decide, choose, to return to learning in the graveyard, with lots and lots of books, as well as continue learning from my teachers there.

Bod is very pragmatic. What he says to Paul and to the others, is matter-of-fact. Thing is, he hasn't learned about the retaliations that 'living' people do when they are deprived of their victims and/or attempt to punish Bod for breaking up their system. That surprised him, I think. So it was another learning experience.

[Prof. Kendra Givens]

Chapter 5:

Did you like the way the author built a sense of anticipation throughout this chapter?
I didn't necessarily think of it as 'anticipation', but I can say that I read this chapter more quickly than others because I wondered exactly what was happening. I guess that is anticipation - I wanted to know what was happening as badly as Bod did.

Do you enjoy traditions or do you get impatient with old customs like the Lady Mayoress did while she was cutting the flowers?
I think there's a time and a place for tradition, but that we can't be too afraid to question or challenge customs. As I flipped back through the chapter, I realized how many times people said 'I don't know, it's a tradition' when people asked why it was happening. Some things just need to be put to rest when they lose their significance and meaning.

Interlude:

What do you think ‘the man jacks’ are? Supernatural creatures, a secret society or both? Or perhaps something quite different.
I think I've envisioned the man jacks as supernatural creatures this whole time. Almost like an evil spirit without a concrete body, able to float through things and travel where they will. I also always assumed that the man Jack was just one person, soooo there's that.

Chapter 6:

Why do you think Bod said this to Silas when the topic of where he (Bod) came from up?
I think Bod was very torn between being eager and being nervous to know where he came from. Who he is at the moment is all he knows, and it's what's comfortable to him. That would be like being adopted and having the opportunity to meet your biological parents, perhaps. I know I would be excited, but also hesitant to question the life I had currently. He might also not want to hurt Silas, since he knows Silas cares about him so deeply. He might be afraid to want something else and how that might change their relationship.

Do you think you would also have wanted to go to a living school if you were in Bod’s position?
I definitely would be curious about living school. I'd want to know what it would be like. Knowing that I technically 'should' be in living school, I'd want to know what it was like. I think, having not grown up in that environment, I would be very intimidated in Bod's position and dislike living school. I'd still want that day to have the experience though.