UP English Fall Semester When You Reach Me
Mr. Follansbee Questions, p. 1-18
1. What is the significance of the date, April 27, 1979, and the address, Studio
15 on W. 58th Street in New York City? How many days do Miranda and Richard
have to get Miranda’s mother ready?
They are the date and the place where Miranda’s mother will compete in the games
show The $200, 000 Pyramid hosted by Dick Clark. They have twenty-one days to
get her ready.
2. How many rounds are there in the contest? What are they called? Of what
does the first round consist?
The contest has two rounds: the speed round and the Winner’s Circle. The
first round consists of each contestant feeding clues to their celebrity partner
who must guess seven words in thirty seconds.
3. Why is Miranda narrating this book? Who is “you”?
Miranda is telling the story that the “you” in the story has asked her to write
down. At this point, we can only guess who “you” is.
4. Who is Richard anyway? How long has he been “coming around”? Does he
have a key?
Richard is Miranda’s mother’s boyfriend and he has been “coming around” for
approximately two years. He does not have a key to Miranda’s mother’s
apartment.
5. Why is Richard NOT Mr. Perfect? Why is he Mr. Perfect?
Richard’s right leg is shorter than his left leg making him imperfect. He is tall,
blonde, handsome, and “very tucked in”. He is a practicing lawyer and he sails.
6. What is a latch key child?
A latchkey child is a child whose parents both work so their child has to let him
or herself into the family’s house or apartment after school.
7. Who is Belle and why does Miranda go to visit her?
Belle owns and runs the neighborhood market, and Miranda goes there to wait
for her mother when she has forgotten her key to the apartment.
8. Who is Meg? What book is Miranda reading? How many times has she read
it? Why would this book interest her?
Meg Murray is the heroine of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
Miranda has read the novel hundreds of times. Miranda reads the book
because Meg is looking for her father and the story involves time travel.
9. What does Miranda’s mother do for a living? How did she and Richard meet?
Miranda’s mother and Richard meet at the law firm where he is a lawyer and
she is a paralegal.
10. What’s the controversy over Miranda’s name?
A classmate of Miranda’s says that she was named after a criminal, but her
mother won’t confirm that. She says she could have been named after the law
requiring the police to inform anyone they arrest of his or her legal rights or
after Shakespeare’s character Miranda in The Tempest.
11. Who are Sal and Louisa? What do Sal and Miranda have in common?
Sal and Loiusa are the son and mother who live in the apartment directly below
Miranda and her mother. Sal and Miranda are both children born out of
wedlock (i.e. their parents were not married and never were married). Sal and
Louisa have been Miranda and her mother’s best friends until recently.
12. How long have Sal and Miranda known each other? Where did their
mothers meet? What was Sal and Miranda’s relationship like in day care?
They have known each other since they were infants. Their mother’s met in the
lobby of the apartment building just after they moved into their apartments.
Sal and Miranda were inseparable in day care; they took naps together.
13. How did Miranda’s mother react when she first saw their apartment?
What did she do about it?
Miranda’s mother was so disgusted by the filthy appearance of their apartment
before they moved that went out and bought cleaning supplies and cleaned it
from top to bottom.
14. Why do Miranda and her mother hide a spare key in the fire hose? Why does
Miranda mention the key in the story?
They hide the spare key in the fire hose so Miranda can get into the apartment
if she forgets her key. She mentions the key because “you” becomes interested
in it!
15. Who is the “laughing man”? What else is he called? Why?
The laughing man is the homeless person who sleeps under the mailbox on the
corner of Miranda’s apartment building. Other than “the laughing man”, he is
also called “Quackers” and “Kicker” because he kicks he legs out when he’s lying
down on the sidewalk under the mailbox and he blurts out inane statements
suggesting he is crazy.