Crabbe

Prologue-Journal 1

Reading Check

1. Franklin (Prologue)

2. Dr. Browne (Journal 1)

Short Answer

1. He is in the hospital because he is suffering from exposure, exhaustion, and various injuries. (Prologue)

2. Crabbe thinks that Dr. Browne believes teenagers are easily manipulated and stupid. (Journal 1)

3. Because Dr. Browne was not able to help him share his experiences, Crabbe hopes that the journal will help him process what happened to him as he shares his experiences with the reader. (Journal 1)

Journal 2-Digression

Reading Check

1. Running away (Journal 2)

2. Drinking alcohol (Journal 4)

Short Answer

1. He admires the teenage protagonist’s choice to deliberately lose a race in order to show that he will not capitulate to others’ plans for his life. (Journal 2)

2. It is a campsite he remembers visiting with his father years ago, on the only such trip his father ever took him on. (Journal 3)

3. Mr. Peters is passionate about teaching English and challenges his students to work hard and think for themselves. (Digression)

Journal 5-Journal 9

Reading Check

1. A lifejacket (Journal 6)

2. A bear (Journal 8)

Short Answer

1. He takes so long to finish packing that his parents arrive home while he is still packing his car. (Journal 5)

2. Crabbe realizes that all his life, other people have planned things and taken care of the work for him, and he has few practical skills. (Journal 7)

3. When he is trying to navigate his canoe around a snag, he ends up going over some falls and the canoe tips. (Journal 9)

Journal 10-Journal 14

Reading Check

1. The top of a tent (Journal 10)

2. Himself (Journal 12)

Short Answer

1. Crabbe tells Mary about his drinking and admits that he is “practically an alcoholic.” (Journal 11)

2. She gives him a pipe to smoke because she thinks it will be easier for him to quit later. (Journal 13)

3. He sees that he is getting stronger and more skillful at wilderness survival, and that he is having fewer cravings for alcohol. (Journal 14)

Journal 15-Journal 17

Reading Check

1. The first frost (Journal 15)

2. Raw meat and pepper (Journal 16)

Short Answer

1. They go to gather supplies from what they think is a deserted compound. (Journal 15)

2. A dog discovers her and alerts the men. (Journal 16)

3. He does not want wild animals to find her body and eat it. (Journal 17)

Crabbe’s Journal: 18-19

Reading Check

1. History professor (Journal 18)

2. It snows. (Journal 19)

Short Answer

1. Crabbe cries for Mary because he suddenly realizes that she is the only person he ever truly loved. (Journal 18)

2. Crabbe thinks that it was probably a mercy killing, resulting from Mary’s belief in living life on one’s own terms. (Journal 18)

3. Mary believed that a successful teacher eventually makes herself obsolete. (Journal 19)

Crabbe’s Journal: 20-21

Reading Check

1. A cabin (Journal 20)

2. His name (Journal 21)

Short Answer

1. He manages to get to a road, and a stranger in a passing vehicle stops for him and takes him to the hospital. (Journal 20)

2. He has pneumonia in both lungs. (Journal 21)

3. He threatens to bring Crabbe’s parents to see him. (Journal 21)

Digression-Journal End

Reading Check

1. A wolf pack (Digression)

2. A seed breaking through its shell (Journal 22)

Short Answer

1. His parents look old and tired to him, and he suddenly realizes that they are real people who have suffered because of his behavior. (Journal 22)

2. Crabbe claims that being a smart, privileged child of wealth has made his quest for autonomy more difficult. (Journal 23)

3. He takes a job at a wilderness camp for troubled teenagers, hoping that he can help them the way Mary helped him. (Journal End)