Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

Make complete sentences as you answer questions with asterisk (*).

 

  1. In many respects, all of the Big Stone Gap books are about �secrets� and the difference between appearance and reality.  What is the secret that Ave Marie�s mother Fiametta shares with her in a letter after her death?  _______________    Why doesn�t Fiametta tell her daughter while she is alive?  ____________________________________________________

 

  1. How does Jack MacChesney become a hero at the mines? __________

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  1. Jack bungles his marriage proposal to Ave Marie, but he wins her when he makes an extraordinary sacrifice so that she can journey to Italy.  What is Jack�s sacrifice? ________________________

 

  1. *Explain why Ave Marie feels like an outsider, a �ferriner� as Iva Lou would say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Who is Mario Schilpario?  _______________________________

      How is he different from Fred Mulligan? ____________________

 

  1. *What is the meaning of Ave Marie�s �Deep Sleep� in the book?  Explain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. What comic episode changes Theodore�s fate and allows Trigiani to make a statement about �chance versus choice�? ________________

 

  1. *How does Trigiani �deconstruct� in her writing the typical stereotypes that popular culture often associates with Italians and Appalachians, two groups that are often considered �outsiders�?  Explain.