“Apples” study guide

What happened to the narrator on the day he received his first kiss? What kind of irony is this?

He saw his Bible teacher, Coach Schramm, killed by a bucket.

Situational irony

What was the weather like on the day of the accident? What type of literary device is used here?

It is stormy Mood

What is it that confuses Ryan Biggum?

How the dinosaurs fit in the creationism story

What is it that strikes Coach Schramm in the head and what had he said just prior to this happening? (What type of irony is this?

A bucket “God Almighty…Can’t we give

the dinosaurs a rest.” Situational irony

Who makes the narrator’s lunch, and why?

His father Because he’s concerned about

Jeremy’s diet

What doesn’t the narrator eat, and what does he with them?

Apples He hides them in the garbage

What does Allison say her grandmother was reborn as? Why does she find this weird?

Her grandmother was reborn as a cat

Because her grandmother didn’t even like cats. She was a dog person

How did Jeremy meet Allison? What was the incident?

He removed a hair from Allison’s collar during a seventh-grade assembly

Where did Allison move to?

The Pacific Northwest

What did Allison collect?

Snowstorm balls

What allowed Jeremy and Allison to get together after classes?

The pep rally was cancelled due to Coach Schramm’s death

Why does Allison think of Jeremy when she sees shadow puppets?

Because he talks with his hands, which he denies

What makes Jeremy thinks of Allison?

When he fails, he slows down and doesn’t panic because he is thinking of her

What does Allison do in order to touch Jeremy while sitting along the hillside?

She builds a hummock of leaves on his thigh

What are Jeremy and Allison practicing that leads to their kissing?

They are practicing for the preposition exam

How does Jeremy feel the moment before kissing Allison?

His heart tumbled inside like an hourglass

What season has Jeremy always been drawn to, and why?

Fall, because it belongs to men and women

Whom does Jeremy notice on the bus after having kissed Allison? How is this ironic?

Kelly Schramm, Coach Schramm’s eldest daughter

Because at the same time Jeremy has just received his first kiss and the Goosen brothers are acting like kids, Kelly is having to cope with the possible loss of her father

Who finds the discarded apples, and why, do you believe, they were discarded?

Jeremy’s father The apples are symbolic of adult

knowledge and, by discarding them, Jeremy doesn’t want to deal with his own mortality and sexuality

Why does Jeremy’s dad want to have a talk?

Because he knows Jeremy has seen Coach Schramm killed and he figures Jeremy may want to discuss it