Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Markus



Here are some facts we know from When You Reach Me:


  • The notes from the Laughing Man suggest Sal will die unless he saves him.
  • Markus notices that Laughing Man always avoids him, running away quickly.
  • Markus punched Sal because of something his brother said.
In your opinion:


  1. How does the Laughing Man know that Sal will die unless he saves him?
  2. Why does Markus make the choice to come back and save Sal even though Markus sees the Laughing Man die?
  3. Would you change any of the choices that Markus/The Laughing Man made and how would this affect the story?
  4. Given that you know Markus comes back to save Sal, how would you describe his personality and character?


Do all questions in Microsoft Word and check it with WORD TALK. Use all your COPS skills and include as many openers as you need to make your answers as interesting to read and as descriptive as possible.

18 comments:

  1. 1. Maybe the Laughing Man knows because in an alternate reality Sal dies, and Markus witnesses it. So, when Markus finds out the secrets to time travel, he goes back in time to save Sal. Another thing I thought was.. what if when Sal dies, the future is different and some futuristic items will not exist, because Sal helped create them. Or maybe Miranda helps create those things, but with Sal’s death she no longer expresses her creativity as much.
    2. Like I had said before, Sal’s death may have a huge impact on the future of society, no/not as many futuristic items
    3. I wouldn’t change any of the choices Markus/Laughing Man made. If I did, there would be a new story, with a different ending. And I like the story just as it is.
    4. I’d say that Markus is heroic, but he may seem rude or mean at first (punching Sal). Markus also seems to be quite smart, because finding out the secrets to time travel must be quite hard, and take a ton of brains. Or Markus might’ve just stumbled upon the secrets of time travel, but that’d be another story.

    Ada B.

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  2. Well done, Ada. Your answer to question one, in particular, is really well thought out: you have obviously spent a lot of time thinking about time travel, alternate realities and the consequences of actions. Have you read other books on time travel?

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    Replies
    1. I actually haven't, but I once watched an episode of one of my favorite shows (Gravity Falls) and that one episode revolved around time travel, so a year or two after it aired I decided to just think about the outcomes, and what could've happened if something went wrong (changing the future). I thought about it so much I gave myself a headache. But even before that time travel fascinated me, and I always have wondered if it could exist or not.

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    2. Whoops. I forgot to sign my name.

      Ada B.

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  3. 1. Because that’s why he traveled back in time to stop Sal from getting hit by the bus he knew it was already going to happen so that’s why he waited every day by the sidewalk.
    2. He comes back because he feels guilty for what he has done and that he has been a bully to Sal so he thought that he should save Sal because he thinks it’s not right to let Sal die.
    3. I wouldn’t I think Markus made the right choice, and if you were to change the story it wouldn’t be as good cause if Sal died no one would understand why he died and why no one helped save Sal.
    4. I think Markus is a good guy even though he was a bully to Sal because he came back and lost his life for Sal even though he didn’t like Sal.
    Luke M

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  4. Yes I do my book that I read over and over is big Nate in the zone
    The best book I ever read is diary of a wimpy kid dog days
    Markus’s brother told him that you have to punch someone for them to punch you
    Miranda’s mom would be a good mother because she goes to prison to speak with pregnant woman in jail
    Carter

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  5. 1. The laughing man knows that Sal will die because he saw the laughing man save Sal and Markus is the laughing man.
    2. Markus saves Sal because he felt bad for what he did, and if the laughing man does not save Sal then Sal will die.
    3. Yes I would change the part when Markus punches Sal so the laughing man would not die and Sal would not brake his arm.
    I would say Markus has a smart, forgiving and funny personality
    Flora.S

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  6. 1. The laughing man knows because he is Markus and the young Markus saw Sal die, so old Markus went back in time to save Sal.
    2. He is old and partly crazy so to save Sal from getting hit, plus he’s old and close to dying.
    3. It’s a known fact; you can’t change anything at all.
    4. He is brave, smart, willing and clever.
    Tristan.T

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  7. 1. The laughing man know Sal will die because he is from the future and came back to save Sal.
    2. Markus make a choice to come back and save Sal because he felt mad that he punch Sal.
    3. I would change the part that the laughing man die and when Markus punch Sal.
    4. I would describe Markus kind because he came back and try to save Sal.
    Celina.T.

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  8. 1. The laughing man knows it because he is Markus from the future so he knows how to save Sal.
    2. He thought that he killed Sal by chasing him on to the street so the laughing man comes back to make things right.
    3. Well if you changed any thing that Markus did it could effect more important things like when Sal got killed. And no I would not change anything.
    4. I would describe Markus as he as a time travel is interested in the future and his character is a grade six and he loves math.
    Bodie.C

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  9. 1. The Laughing Man knows that Sal will die because he is from the future.
    2. Marcus came back in time because he felt bad for punching Sal in the face.
    3. I would change the part when the Laughing Man died. It changes the part of the story to not make it sad.
    4. I would describe Marcus as a kind person because he came back in time just to save Sal.
    Aana.P.

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  10. 1.The Laughing man will know when Sal dies because he was Markus, and Markus was there when Sal died in the past.
    2.Markus makes the choice of coming back and saving Sal maybe because he doesn’t want to live with the fact that he accidentally killed someone.
    3.No I wouldn’t change anything because I like what happens but then again it was pretty surprising.
    4.I would describe Markus as a curious, brave, caring, smart kid. Also a little bit dumb sometimes but other than that he’s cool.
    -Trinity

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  11. 1.)the laughing man knew that Sal would die unless he had saved him because he could have traveled forward in time to see the accident.The laughing man was practicing for that day.
    2.) Sal’s death my change the future, Markus probably is never upset that he killed someone.
    3.) I would not change any of the laughing man’s choices because something way worse could happen. However if he did change something it should have been going back to when sal was punched and stop his younger self from doing the punch.
    4.)I see Markus as a smart,kind person even if he punched Sal he made up for it by giving him his life.
    Anrika Hattingh.

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  12. 1. Laughing Man knows that Sal will die unless he saves him because the laughing man is Marcus and Marcus saw what happened.
    2. Markus made the choice to come back and save Sal even though Markus sees the Laughing Man die because he does not want to change the future.
    3. No I would not change any of the choices the Laughing man made because I do not want to risk the future.
    4. I think Marcus is nice, smart. and daydreams a lot.
    Daniel S

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  13. 1. The Laughing man knows Sal will die unless he saves him because the Laughing man is Markus and he feels responsible for Sal dying.
    2. Markus makes the choice to come back from the future because he feels like he owes Sal his life back but he knows he’ll die and that his past self will see him.
    3. I would change the choice of Markus/The laughing man deciding not to take any clothes so I would not be making a scene so it doesn’t changes the future as much.
    4. I would describe Markus as a willing and daring person also a person who might have made some mistakes in his life and wanted to change some. Even though Markus bullied Sal it doesn’t mean he has a small heart and a little soul, he could just be a nice guy that make a mistake.
    Sakura.S

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  14. 1) I think that the laughing man knows that Sal will die because he is Marcus in the future and blames himself for the accident.
    2) I think that Marcus comes back because he blames himself for Sal’s death.
    3) I probably would not go back because I could kill my myself like the laughing man did or I could risk another mans life.
    4) I would describe him as a man that mostly keeps to himself and is more quiet, and I think he really try’s to fix his mistakes.
    Alyssa

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  15. 1. I know the laughing man Knows that Sal will die because he is Markus. Markus is the boy that chased Sal onto the street.
    2. Markus thought it was his fault that Sal die so he went back in time to save Sal but he saw the laughing man / himself die.
    3. I think the laughing man should of went back in time to when he punched Sal and stop his younger self from punching Sal.
    4. I think Markus has a kind and smart personality.
    Sarah

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