Moira Caulfield
A firefighter is called to duty when their pager rings. The basis of chapter nine is wrapped around Perry’s pager and he states, “the pager is a pickax hurled through the window of dreams… driving straight to the base of my brain.” Perry had to be ready for duty no matter what time of day it was and he describes how when his pager goes off it causes his heart to race in anticipation of going out on a call. Pagers can have different noises varying from soft or extreme beeping noises to a woman’s voice stating the situation and where your help is needed. Perry’s discusses a call about a 24 year-old man who had stopped breathing. He arrived on the scene and this man was an example of many cases where he wasn’t trained heavily enough to actually make an impact or save the man’s life. Perry is simply a volunteer firefighter so he doesn’t need to have extreme training to qualify for his position. Another case in which Perry couldn’t help was when a woman called her grandfather in because he had stopped breathing but unfortunately there was no saving him. The chapter ends with an unusual story about a goose who died. The goose was in his thirties after Perry couldn’t revive him.
Discussion Leader
Stephen Fong
Q: In the beginning of the chapter entitled “Death,” Perry refers to many unusual ways to die. Why do you think he gave us all of these small anecdotes?
Death is clearly an important part of his life and in a small town they may try to cover up death in the town this gives the reader a taste of the raw details and true reality which the town faces on a daily basis. Furthermore, we also believe that while we all come into the world – generally in the same way – the way in which we depart are unique. This uniqueness is can be seen as scary and in regards to his profession, it keeps him on his toes.
Q: He talks about the responsibility and uneasiness of knowing someone is dead while other are oblivious, and shows a great sadness, perhaps depression. How would you react if you were in a similar position?
First, if our group were faced with this situation we would feel awful. It would be a powerful position to be put in to know that you would know of this person is death and their loved one does not know. We would never want to put into this position, due to the eeriness to which we would experience. With constant exposure to death and the knowledge, we believe that depression could occur.
Q:The goose story allows the reader to make the assumption that Perry and his co-volunteers cannot live up to expectations, do you think that that is fair for the community fire department?
No, they only have so many resources and basic training they cannot deliver the same miraculous miracles that the TV portrays. It is an unrealistic expectation that the volunteers will be able to deliver some of the services, such as rescuing a goose. He expresses the sadness he experiences by not being able to help individuals in the way they expect to be helped.
Q:What is the importance of Perry referring to his pager multiply times? Do you believe that this recurring theme is vital to the story line?
We feel like that this is an important part of the story, although we are not exactly sure yet. He refers to his heartbeat increasing, and the adrenaline rush, which he experiences after the pager goes off. This could be an important part of building the rising action in any of his smaller anecdotes and allow the reader to have a signal that his mood is changing and he is kicking into action.
Graphic Organizer
Kenzie Hoefs
Chapter 8 entitled Death, is a very important part of Perry’s job. Perry must deal with not being able to save people all the time. Perry also shares mixed feelings on this because sometimes he wished he did not have to help the patient and could just let them die peacefully. In this chapter Perry references Tracy Rimes again who passed away in the beginning of the book. For Perry to bring her up again shows that she plays an important role in the story or has a strong impact on her life. The most important death story in this chapter seemed to be about the boy who stole his father’s car and crashed it. Perry seems to reflect on his job when realizing that he holds the information that could shatter someone’s life.
Vocabulary Article Finder
Chapter 9 dealing with some of the crazy calls Michael Perry has witnessed, I wondered what would happen if no one could answer the call. The article firefighters on call, but not always available discusses the fact that fire stations around the United States are experiencing a loss in manpower. The reason for lose is due to a low volunteer rate because of a combination of low pay rate, and the demanding training. This could be problematic if when you call for help, and it falls on deaf ears.
Mitchell Cooley
Chapter 9 dealing with some of the crazy calls Michael Perry has witnessed, I wondered what would happen if no one could answer the call. The article firefighters on call, but not always available discusses the fact that fire stations around the United States are experiencing a loss in manpower. The reason for lose is due to a low volunteer rate because of a combination of low pay rate, and the demanding training. This could be problematic if when you call for help, and it falls on deaf ears.
