SuitabookBoy Who Owned the School
Gary Paulsen
- Reading
- Pause after Jacob begins working on the production and ask what he might be worried about. Revisit the ending together, since the outcome of his situation with Maria is unclear.
- Themes
- Being noticed: Jacob’s goal is to go unnoticed, but stage-crew work makes him part of a school production and places him near Maria. The situation clearly foregrounds the tension between avoiding attention and taking part; the story’s judgement of Jacob’s behaviour is not established.
- Embarrassment and romantic feeling: Jacob must work near Maria, whom he likes, after already making a fool of himself in front of her. The book presents embarrassment and romantic feeling as part of Jacob’s predicament, but does not establish whether it treats either experience positively or critically.
- Worth knowing
- Pay particular attention to emotional intensity.