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It's 1895. Rhoda Midyette has lived all her life on Glenn Island, where her father is keeper of the U. S. Lifesaving Station. But she’s never before seen the odd light she now glimpses at night, moving along the cape above Graveyard Shoal. Could it be the ghost of the shipwrecked sea captain who is said to haunt the island? Or is it something just as impossible: an islander---a friend or neighbor---shining a light to lure ships to their destruction on the dangerous shoal? |
| Talking About the Story |
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Rhoda lived on an isolated barrier island. Talk about ways in which geography might affect her life. What are some of the ways people in the book had adapted to this often harsh environment? What did you like about Rhoda’s life? What did you not like?
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All of the Lifesavers in the story, except Harlan, were from Glenn Island. How would island life particularly equip them for their jobs? Think of other ways people on an island might make a living. List as many as you can on the board. |
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When Rhoda discovered the light on the shoal, she agonized over what the light might be and whether she should tell anyone about her suspicions that the light might be a wrecker. Discuss Rhoda’s responsibility to others as a citizen of the island community and as the daughter of the Keeper of the Lifesaving Station. |
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Rhoda was faced with a terrible dilemma when she began to suspect that the wrecker might be Mr. Kimball, her best friend’s father. Discuss the ethical considerations in having to choose between loyalty to a friend and loyalty to the greater community. What would you have done in Rhoda’s situation? |
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Rhoda’s father said that he had been a coward because he’d been afraid to fire Harlan even though he was not doing a good job as a Lifesaver. Why did Daddy believe this? Do you agree? |
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In a classroom discussion, compare the surfmen in the story to modern day heroes, such as fire fighters, police officers, soldiers, etc. |
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Daddy blamed himself for the death of some of the people aboard the Mary Bradshaw. Why? Do you think his responsibility as Keeper of the Lifesaving Station made him partly to blame? Why or why not? |
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Harlan was an outsider on Glenn Island, not a part of the island’s culture. Despite his "outsider" status, Daddy had hired him as a Lifesaver and the islanders had accepted Harlan as "one of them." How do you think Harlan’s treachery might affect the islanders’ future attitude toward outsiders? Is this right/wrong? Why? Do you think Daddy will ever hire another outsider to be a Lifesaver? Should he? Why or why not? |
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Rhoda’s story was set in 1895, over a hundred years ago, before bridges to the island, before cars and highways, before telephones, radio, and television, before electricity. How do you think modern technology has changed life on a barrier island? |
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Pearl’s life was in jeopardy because she didn’t have access to effective treatments for her illness. Name some modern day inventions that could have helped Pearl, and tell why and how. |
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The coast of North Carolina was once known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic because it was such a dangerous place for ships to pass. How has modern day technology made travel and shipping less hazardous? |
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| Writing About The Story |
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Compare and contrast Rhoda’s life on a barrier island to your own life. Consider relationships to friends and family, school, work, housing, food, transportation, shopping, pastimes. |
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Write a story where you are shipwrecked on a deserted barrier island. Include in the story how you survived on the island and how you eventually made it back to civilization. (Or did you choose to stay on the island?) |
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Daddy told Rhoda that the stories of wreckers were "old wives’ tales." Folktales, legends, and fables are a part of every culture’s heritage and also help define that culture. Choose a geographical area/culture and write your own folk story or legend set in its midst. |
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Pretend you’re allowed to give the characters in the book one modern day invention. Write about what it would be and how it would change the outcome of the story. |
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An epilogue is a short section at the end of a book that "ties up all the loose ends" of the story. Pretend you are the author of Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal. Write your own epilogue, changing the outcome of the story. Questions you might want to consider: What if Pearl had not been able to go to Norfolk for treatment, or what if her treatment had been unsuccessful? What if Harlan had been caught? What if Daddy had decided to fire Mr. Kimball? |
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Harlan was the antagonist in the story, the anti-hero, yet he was not entirely a villain. What did you like about Harlan? What did you not like? What clues did the author give you that Harlan was not what he seemed? Do you think he was ever really Rhoda’s friend? Why or why not? Have you ever been betrayed by a friend? Write about it. |
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Imagine yourself in one of the scenes the author describes, then write a poem about what you see. Some scenes you might choose: the beach at night or early in the morning, the woods on your way to school along Sweet Pond Path, in town on Market Day, skimming across the sound in the Woodhouse’s sharpie, the beach during a storm, approaching the Piggott’s house, on your way to Pearl’s house along Split Cedar Path, at the general store. |
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Create a timeline that outlines the plot of the story.
Choose two characters in the story to analyze. Describe each one and characterize him or her fully. Draw a picture of how you think he or she might have looked. |
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The author of Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal uses many instances of figurative language. Go on a scavenger hunt through the book to find as many instances as you can. Look for similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and others. |
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Reading More
Here are some books you might enjoy on related topics.
Fiction:
torm Warrior, by Elisa Carbone
Teetoncy, by Theodore Taylor
The Nightwalker, by Belinda Hurmence
Eleanor Hil, by Lisa Williams Kline
Nonfiction:
Sink or Swim: African American Lifesavers of the Outer Bank, by Carole Boston Weatherford
Hatteras Journal, by Jan DeBlieu
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Chapter One
peril
shoals
rhythmic
orneriest
nor’easter
sou’wester
squalls
prostrate
schooner
Chapter Four
extinguish
strew(ing)
placid
Chapter Seven
buffet(ed)
chalet
replica
muzzle
Chapter Ten
anguish
devise(d)
hasp
shroud(ed)
Chapter Thirteen
wistfully
concoct(ed)
confrontation
taut
clamber(ed)
flinch(ed)
treachery
ruckus |
Chapter Two
arc
plummet(ed)
undertow
rheumatic fever
meandering
russet
ruddy
Chapter Five
unsavory
gruesome
atrocious
whorls
canopy
Chapter Eight
breezeway
ticked
apple-jack
swale
ramshackle
exasperation
Chapter Eleven
eaves
shipshape |
Chapter Three
mariner
plundered
sow
sullen
rigging lines
tamp(ing)
Chapter Six
clutch (of eggs)
deduce
corpse
Chapter Nine
illicit
sharpie
mumblety-peg
scandalous
prattle
sidle
drone
audible
Chapter Twelve
Ruthlessness |
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