Question: What makes Grandpa sound glamorous to the narrator’s friends?
Answer: Cheryl and Martin bragged and exaggerated about Grandpa’s way of life, which made him sounds glamorous to their friends. Also, they had never met a Native American so the idea of one seems interesting.
Question: What happens when Grandpa arrives at Martin’s house?
Answer: When Grandpa arrives at Martins house, he is found (by Martin) walking in the middle of the street with a bunch of dogs and kids around him. Martin is upset that Grandpa is there because he is worried that Grandpa would embarrass him. Then, since Grandpa was exhausted from the trip, he passed out.
Question: Why does Grandpa want Martin to have the medicine bag?
Answer: Grandpa wants Martin to have the medicine bag because he believed that he was about to die and it is the tradition of the family that the medicine bag goes to the oldest male child. It is supposed to protect Martin and bring him good luck.
Question: What is in the medicine bag, and what does Martin add to it at the end of the story?
Answer:
Question: A three-sentence summary of “The Medicine Bag.”
Answer:
Question: What can the reader infer from about Grandpa’s appearance?
Answer: The reader can infer that Grandpa is tired, close to his deathbed, and not a typical TV Native American.
Question: Why would the author include details about Grandpa’s appearance at the beginning of the story? What does it foreshadow?
Answer: The details show us what health condition Grandpa is in and that he’s not very strong which foreshadows his death and shows why Martin might be embarrassed.
Question: Why are Martin and Cheryl’s greetings so different?
Answer: Since Martin is older, he is concerned about what people think about him and is worried that Grandpa would embarrass him. Cheryl is young and doesn’t care about that kind of thing yet.
Question: What can you conclude about Martin and his sister by the way they treat Grandpa?
Answer: We can conclude that Martin and Cheryl are at very different social stages in their life since Martin is concerned about what people think of him and worries about what people will think about Grandpa before being happy to see him, while Cheryl is just happy to see her Grandpa that she loves.
Question: Why does the author provide so much detail about Grandpa’s journey?
Answer: The author provides so much detail about the journey in order to display Grandpa’s hardships and his determination to see his family.