The Day the World Almost Came to An End Flashcards
Daddy
- Understanding
- Has a good relationship with his daughter
- Deacon
1st person narrator
- Imaginative
- Bold
- Naive
Rena
• Naive
Religion
his is the central theme in this short story. Plantation life was centered on religion to the extent that even the narrator’s father was a deacon in the church. Religious fervor, in the form of hellfire preaching, is also the fuel for the panic that overtakes the narrator/protagonist in this short story.
Love & Family Relationships
The love and trust between father and daughter is glaring. When the narrator/protagonist was worried about the world coming to an end, the first person that she thought to consult on this issue was her father. His response to her childish fears, in turn, highlights the easy relationship between the two. Daddy’s care in covering his daughter after her mad dash through the turnrow is also an indication of the love that he has for his child.
Setting
this story was set on a plantation in Louisiana in 1936.
How old was the girl at the time?
Twelve years old
What was the axis to which the church revolved and the mother to whom the folks took their problems?
It was the church
Irony
The fact that her parents were “churchgoing christians” ( her dsd was a deacon) she was still holding on to being a sinner)
Why was the girl so scared that the world was coming to an end?
She was so scared because she was a sinner and did no want to burn in hell for each sin she had committed.
How did one get religion? (which was an old plantation custom)
They would have to be baptised
What was she doing when Rena came running up to her like the devil was behind her?
She was playing in a watermelon patch makimg a whole quarter of mud cabins by packing dirt over her foot in the shape of a cabin, putting a chimney on top and then pulling her foot out which would leave a space for the room of the cabin
What did Rena say?
The end of the world is coming Saturday; you’d better go get you some religion in a hurry!
Why was Rena Frazzled?
Why was the church referred to the “axis” of the village?
What was her cousins name?
Rena
What were some of her sins?
lying, stealing ripe plums and peaches from her neighbours trees, fighting ‘sassy catherine’ her neighbour and gambling
What was the first day of this setting?
Friday
What was the loud rumbling that the persona heard that made her think the world was ending?
It was an old airplane
The narrator told Rena that the world’s not coming to an end, was she confident while saying this?
No, in fact, the confidence she TRIED to put in her voice failed, it quaked a little. Then she proceeded to ask who told her it was ending
Why was Rena convinced the world was ending?
Because she heard her mother and Ms daya talking about it and how there’d be an eclipse Sunday
What did Rena say an eclipse was?
She said it was when the sun has a fight with the moon and that if the moon whips, the world comes to an end
Who is Mr. John?
The author of revelation
How did the story end?
After having a good cry and hiding her shame behind her dad’s suit coat, she walked up the ribbon of road bordering the plantation and felt a new kind of happiness within her. She felt she was alive and had a hapoy feeling she never had before. Right then and there she became overwhelmed with a desire to really live in the world and enjoy as much of it before it came to an end, and shes been doing that ever since
