Discussion on Global Issues
1. How do the environmental problems which are mentioned affect
a) animals
b) people
c) plants and trees?
2. What is indirectly or directly said about
a) infrastructure
b) education
c) society in general?
3. What makes Mr Thompson afraid of letting other people learn about what is going on in the little community where they live? In what ways does it differ from other places in the area?
4. This is a society where something has obviously gone terribly wrong, but we aren't told what. However, is it a pessimistic or optimistic depiction of life and man's ability to tackle the problems created by himself?
5. What, in your view, are some of the most urgent problems or challenges facing us today
a) locally?
b) nationally?
c) globally?
Literary Analysis
a) Characterize Thorny and Stan? Pay attention to family attachment, where they live how they behave, their attitudes to people and the world surrounding them.
b) Explain the importance of setting in the story.
c) How do we understand that things are not quite as we think at first glance?
d) How does the writer create suspense?
e) How do we understand that Thorny is “special”? What has happened to her? How does she feel about it?
f) Account for theme and message.
g) “To hear them carry on, you’d think they’d changed the whole world!” This is Thorny’s concluding words. What do we understand that Thorny doesn’t? Why?
h) Make a word cloud to illustrate the story. Simply paste a paragraph or a sentence into www.wordle.net/create. You may edit and change colors. See what the story is about?
Movie Maker/Photo Story
Frog Pond has a vivid imagery. Use Movie Maker or Photo Story to tell the story. Pay special attention to the use of colors and make the necessary adaptations.
Writing
1. Dan Garret has written an Introduction to Frog Pond. Read his article to find out more about Genetic Modification (GM) and selective adaptations. Write a Letter to the Editor offering your point of view on these issues.
2. Frog Pond is one of many examples of post-apocalyptic literature. You have probably read stories or seen movies where the world has been destroyed through nuclear war or some general disaster. Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world after such a disaster. One of the common themes running through this fiction is the question of how people can survive, and create a new life from the ruins of the old one.
Why do you think many authors are concerned with such topics? Write an essay dealing with post-apocalyptic literature or review a film or a novel dealing with this topic.