Gideon the Cutpurse By: Linda Buckley-Archer

1. Gideon the Cutpurse By: Linda Buckley-Archer Project by: Brandon Bond

2. Conflict/Character

3. “ The world dissolved for Peter. All sensation ceased. No pain. No heat. No great light.” Page 37 • This is the main conflict that transitions the story into two time periods. When Peter and Kate get back in the 18th century they are uncertain for where they are which brings them closer together.

4. “’The Tar Man loaded it onto his cart. At one end it was a plain thing, grey and unadorned. At the other there was a silver object that resembled for all the world a giant pear….” Peter looked at Kate. “The antigravity machine ”, he mouthed.” Page 81 This conflict is important to the story because they got to the 18th Century by going through a time machine and the Tar Man is taking it away from them. This begins a journey that brings the characters together to overcome many problems they face.

5. “By night fall Sir Richard and Mr. Leche had put together a document that they hoped would prove Gideons innocence or at least put into doubt the courts verdict. A messenger was sent with all speed after the Kings and Queen, with the instruction to go on to Alnwick Castle of King George had already left for Northumberland.” Page 501 This conflict is what leads the main characters Kate and Peter have to put there brains together to come up with a situation to save Gideon from being hung. This conflict is important because they have to save Gideon because this is the person who knows the 18th century and has helped them all the way to get the time machine back.

6. “Would he ever see his London again? Would he forget what his mum and dad looked like? Hew swept away his thoughts. He couldn’t think about all that now.” Page 534 This conflict is important to the story because when Kate gets the time machine back her and her father goes with her. Not realizing they leave Peter behind and this sets up the end of the story to begin the next book in the series. This conflict is important because their parent were looking a for them and Peter will wonder if he will ever get home since the time machine is back in the 21st century.

7. Setting

8. “There were papers everywhere—stacked on tables, in boxes on the floor, balanced on the windowsills—and there were four computers. But what immediately caught Peter’s eye were photographs. On every wall their were beautiful images of a blue Earth seen from space, of planets and their moons, and distant galaxies like jewels laid out on black velvet. Mathematical formulae were scrawled in green ink on two large whiteboards.” Page 29-30 This quote describes the laboratory that Peter and Kate are first in before they went back in time. This setting is important because this is where they learned about the antigravity machine a little and experimented with electricity. The electricity caused them to go back in time.

9. “The cow stood in front of him, tearing up great chunks of grass and snorting through her nose as she chewed. She flicked her tail and twitched her muscles in an effort to shoo away a cloud of flies that hovered around her. Beyond the animal a beautiful valley stretched as far as the eye could see. The grass was long and had turned to hay; dandelion seeds and thistledown floated through the air.” Page 42 The setting described in the quote is when Peter and Kate first wake up in the 18th century and start to describing what they see. This reveals that the characters are not totally awake and aware of there surroundings yet.

10. “….in a narrow gangway, metal bars between them and the thirty or forty prisoners, young and old, men and women, who remained here twenty-four hours a day. Some of them were shackled to the wall or the floor, some of them sat or lay on the bare wooden shelves that served as beds….” Page 459-460 This is where after accused of sealing in the race Gideon was put into a prison that was terrible. This reveals that Peter and Kate really want to help Gideon out and know he didn’t steel it. Gideon is a tough person because he lasted a long amount of time in the terrible prison.

11. Narrator

12. “I have pieced together its many interweaving strands in the hope that its telling will serve not only as a grave warning but also as a celebration of mandkind’s infinite curiosity about his universe and greatness of the human heart.” Page 11 This quote reveals that the narrator took great caution to write the story as it was told form Peter.

13. “In which Peter makes the acquaintance of the Dyer family and a hair-raising encounter with a van de Graff generator triggers an extraordinary chain of events.” Page 19 The authors attitude of this quote is excitement because there is about to become a series of events that lead to more conflicts. The main trigger in the many chains is the timemachine.

14. “in which Dr. Dyer explains the disappearance of the antigravity machine, and Gideon’s situation goes from bad to worse.” Page 482 This quote introduces a conflict that is about to happen. The author is trying to say that things get worse before they get better. An example would be once Gideon is taken to prison they tell them he is going to be hung which his friends don’t want. They come up a plan and got him freed, so as you can see things got worse before they got better.

15. Authors Purpose

16. Authors Purpose The authors purpose is to entertain and to appeal to mandkind’s curious nature and compassionate side. For example, the author uses positive descriptions of the characters to make them seem more attractive and sympathetic. He writes, “ Besides him sat a pretty, plump young woman in a severe black-and-white dress, She was perhaps twenty years old and she was balancing a basket covered with a muslin cloth on her knee. Golden curls escaped from beneath a cotton bonnet and tumbled over her rosy cheeks (100-101).” Using warm words like golden and emphasizing her youth and prettiness causes the reader to connect with that character.

17. Authors Purpose Continued… The author uses time travel and historical periods to keep the reader interested and wanting more. For example, he sends his characters through time and lets the reader experience the confusion of his characters: “’1763”, mouthed Kate silently. The shock of it was too much for Peter to take in . . . he had a strong urge to giggle but found himself instead sinking to the ground. . . . . [Kate] turned very pale and then said, “I feel a bit dizzy,” and collapsed at Gideon’s feet.” Page 93-94 By doing this to his characters, he further appeals to our compassionate side as well; we worry about the characters’ well-being. The author uses a character, Gideon, to show compassion toward other characters. An example from the text would be “They watched as a man with blond hair grabbed hold of Ned’s pistol and forced him, out of sight, to the ground. Peter leaned out of the window to see none other than Gideon Seymour struggling to pin the highwayman to the ground (190).” This show that Gideon is compassionate to his friends and helps them when they need help.(little does Gideon know that it will pay off because later in the story when he is in trouble his friends will help him.)