“The Foghorn”

1. “The Foghorn” Ray Bradbury

2. Do Now: Brainstorm a list of ‘creatures’ that are considered to be ‘urban legends’, whose existence has never been definitively proven. Let’s see what you come up with…

3. Examples:

13. Chupacabra

14. Fact or Fiction??? Can anyone really say? Their existence has never been officially proven. Because there is no definitive evidence or proof, does that mean they do not exist???

15. How do we perceive these creatures? What words come to mind? (Scary, creepy, frightening, harmful, terrifying) • Do you think they want to be perceived and thought of this way? How might they actually feel? Think about it from another perspective.

16. Facts about Foghorns: A foghorn or fog signal or fog bell is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of hazards or boats of the presence of other vehicles in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. When visual navigation aids such as lighthouses are obscured, foghorns provide an audible warning of rocks, shoals, headlands, or other dangers to shipping.

17. Audio/Visual Connection ***Listen to YouTube clips of fog horns sounded.*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUL4xAcy7uo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiTsSGEhiVs How can you describe their sound? What do they sound like? What can you compare them to? MOOD?

18. Lighthouses We are now going to view a series of pictures of lighthouses. *What words can you use to describe these pictures of lighthouses? **If you could personify the lighthouses, how would you characterize them?

25. Let’s hear some responses…

26. Read the opening paragraph on pg. 372. What point of view is the story told in? (a) First person (b) Second Person (c) Third Person (d) Third Person Omniscient

27. In the opening paragraphs we are introduced to our two main characters. We also learn a little about the life of the workers in lighthouses. What type of job would you say they have? • Exciting and interesting (b) Boring and dull (c) Lonely and solitary (d) Lively and Unpredictable

28. Please identify specific examples from page 372 that supports the idea that this is a lonely occupation.

29. Pg. 372, second column, “Oh the sea’s full…as old as the beard of a comet.” What is the main idea of this paragraph? (a) The ocean is mysterious and unchanged, like another world, that we do not fully comprehend. (b) It’s a time warp to the past, going back to 300,000 B.C. (c) It’s very deep and freezing cold. (d) We need to explore the ocean more, along with outer space.

30. Pg. 373, second column, “ One day many years ago…briefness of life.” • McDunn’s tone in describing the sound of the Foghorn creates a mood of • Anger and rage • Loneliness and sadness • Happiness and cheer • excitement and yearning

31. VISUALIZING/CREATING MENTAL IMAGES: How would you describe the physical characteristics of the creature on page 374?

34. Pg. 374-375, “ But here, why does it come here?...Do you understand now, Johnny, do you understand?” • Why does the creature come to the lighthouse? • To feed on a great amount of fish. • It is the creature’s migration habit. • Because the creature thinks the Lighthouse is another one of its kind. • because it wants to be discovered by humans.

35. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS & MAKING INFERENCES Read pg. 375 “The sound of the foghorn…Do you understand?” • Do you understand why it takes the creature three months to submerge from the bottom of the ocean? • Please explain citing evidence to support your answer. • Why does the creature always come in the month of November?

36. Please read pg.376-- first paragraph 2nd column on 378, “ We’ve rounded the cape.” Simply, write down the major event that transpired on these pages.

37. What do you think motivated the creature to do what it did? • The creature hated the look of the lighthouse. • The creature hated McDunn and Johnny living and working in it’s ocean. (c) The creature realized what the lighthouse actually was. (d) The creature couldn’t bear to hear the sound of the Foghorn anymore.

38. READER RESPONSE: What are your feelings toward the sea creature? Do your feelings reflect your responses to the pre reading questions about the other ‘urban legend’ creatures?

39. On page 378 find specific text references that support the previous answer.

40. Please identify a major THEME of this story. Can you identify the over all MOOD of this story?

41. What words can you use to describe McDunn’s feelings toward the creature? • Fear and terror • Pity and empathy • Sadness and Love • Indifferent and Ignorant

42. McDunn empathizes and shares a connection with the creature. Can you and a partner find specific text evidence to support this? “That’s life for you , said McDunn. “Someone always waiting for someone who never comes home. Always someone loving something more than that thing loves them. After a while you want to destroy whatever that thing is, so it can’t hurt you anymore” (376).

43. “I saw it all, I knew it all—the million years of waiting alone, for someone to come back who never came back” (375).

44. “It’s learned you can’t love anything too much in this world. It’s gone into the deepest Deeps to wait another million years. Ah, the poor thing!” (379). • Johnny got a new job and a wife. He CHANGED. McDunn kept the same job, UNCHANGING, just like the creature. (378)

45. MAKING INFERENCES: For a moment let’s attempt to psychoanalyze McDunn’s character. There is obviously wisdom, experience, and pain behind his words. Infer what might have happened to McDunn in his life.