What is Laurel’s opinion of Arnetta? Does it change in the course of thestory?

What will be an ideal response?



  • Although Laurel never directly states her view of Arnetta, she clearly views this group leader with a mixture of fear and suspicion. There is significant tension, and perhaps dislike, between these two young girls. Arnetta controls her Brownie troop by saying vulgar words and intimidating everyone around her; she is a bully who wants to fight. She decides to teach Troop 909 a lesson and runs the “secret meeting.” It is Arnetta who “said she’d heard one of the Troop 909 girls call Daphne a nigger” (par. 15), and it is Arnetta who says they smell like “wet Chihuahuas” (par. 3). Ironically, only the consummately hypocritical Arnetta has memorized Mrs. Margolin’s religious aphorisms (par. 6). Laurel notices that “Arnetta always [gave Mrs. Margolin] what she wanted to hear” (par. 7), a method she uses to deflect attention from her decidedly un-Christian attitude, which is full of revenge, envy, and prejudice.



Early in the story, Laurel highlights a seemingly insignificant moment from a past Brownie meeting that reveals a few characteristics of Arnetta. Laurel says that “once, Arnetta killed the troop goldfish by feeding it a French fry covered in ketchup” and justified this action to Mrs. Margolin by claiming that “the goldfish had been eyeing her meal for hours, [so] then the fish—giving in to temptation—had leapt up and snatched a whole golden fry from her fingertips” (par. 7). Arnetta easily creates a ridiculous story—that the gullible Mrs. Margolin believes—to shift the blame away from herself. This foreshadows Arnetta’s actions with Troop 909 at camp.
It is clear that Laurel struggles with Arnetta because during the “secret meeting,” Arnetta turns to Laurel and asks, “Snot, you’re not going to be a bitch and tell Mrs. Margolin, are you?” (par. 34). For Arnetta to ask such a question, there must have been a time in the past when Laurel did tell on Arnetta, and the grudge remains. But Laurel is right to question Arnetta as the entire fight was based on a false accusation. When Arnetta twice accuses two innocent girls (one of whom does not even speak), she tries to do what she did before with the goldfish: put the blame elsewhere to get herself out of trouble.

Language Arts & World Languages

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Language Arts & World Languages

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Read this text about French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and answer the questions in English.

Jean-Paul Gaultier est le fondateur de la société Jean Paul Gaultier, membre de la Chambre de la Haute couture. Jean-Paul Gaultier est également directeur du prêt-à-porter femme chez Hermès depuis 2004. Le style de Jean-Paul Gaultier pourrait se définir par la recherche d’un équilibre entre mode radicale et tradition. Jean-Paul Gaultier est aujourd’hui célèbre pour ses créations excentriques et ses parfums. Sa marque de reconnaissance est le pull rayé marine et blanc. Surnommé l’«enfant terrible de la mode française», Jean-Paul Gaultier a démocratisé la haute couture, tout en faisant monter le style de la rue sur les podiums. Il a par exemple récemment lancé une collection temporaire dans les magasins Target, aux États-Unis. Ce créateur a conservé le goût des classiques magistralement revisités. Gaultier, n’hésite pas à abolir (abolish) les frontières entre les sexes et les races et à utiliser des références urbaines, ethniques et religieuses ; il s’est imposé comme l’un des créateurs contemporains les plus appréciés. Il est désormais l’un des plus grands noms de la mode française sur la scène mondiale. Gaultier a été sollicité pour réaliser les costumes de nombreux chanteurs, dont le célèbre bustier de Madonna en 1990 pour son Blonde Ambition Tour ou encore certaines tenues de Kylie Minogue. Il a également dessiné des costumes pour diverses représentations et films tels que Le Cinquième Élément. Côté vie personnelle, Jean-Paul Gaultier est ouvertement homosexuel et est considéré comme un symbole de la culture gay française et internationale. 1. How does this text define Jean-Paul Gaultier’s style? ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where can one find a temporary collection of Gaultier in the United States? ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. How does Gaultier try to abolish divisions between gender and race? ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. Name two famous singers for whom Gaultier has designed. ______________________________________________________________________________ 5. Gaultier is a symbol for what type of culture? ______________________________________________________________________________

Language Arts & World Languages

When creating tables, which is the best strategy?

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Language Arts & World Languages