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“The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” Reading Worksheet
**All questions must be answered using complete sentences**
Pre-reading Discussion Questions
1. Describe your favorite hobbies?
2. Have you ever pretended to be someone else or acted differently so that someone would
like you? Describe the situation in four or more sentences. If not, describe how you
became confident in yourself.
3. Do you remember your first crush? How did you feel each time you saw that person? Did
you act differently around that person in an attempt to impress them?
4. Should you make sacrifices for a boyfriend or girlfriend? If so, what would you be
willing to sacrifice? If not, explain why you would not be willing to make sacrifices.
Extra Credit Vocabulary
Exert (v.): to make a strenuous [energetic] physical or mental effort
Frantic (adj.): in a state in which it is impossible to keep feelings or behavior under control,
usually through fear, worry, or frustration
Longing (n.): a persistent [tireless] and strong desire, usually for somebody or something
unattainable or not within immediate reach
Moor (v.): to secure a boat, ship, or aircraft to one place with cables, chains, ropes, or an
anchor, or be secured in this way
Mounting (adj.): becoming greater in size, number, or intensity
*All definitions courtesy of Encarta Dictionary
Quotes that Demonstrate Four Literary Devices
Hyperbole: “Behind me, I could feel the strain of the bass, steadier now, growing weaker, and
this was another tug on my heart, not just the bass but the beat of the river and the slant of the
stars and the smell of the night, until finally it seemed I would be torn in apart between
longings, split in half” (Wetherell, 47).
Imagery: “The line, tightly coiled, peeled off the spool the shrill, tearing zip of a high speed
drill” (Wetherell, 45).
Personification: “For a moment, I thought it was gone, but then the rod was bending again,
the tip dancing into the water” (Wetherell, 45).
Simile: “[…] the only part I remember clearly is emerging from the woods toward dusk while
they were playing softball on their lawn, as bashful and frightened as a unicorn” (Wetherell,
43).
Post Reading Questions
1. Why does Sheila like playing the outfield? What does it say about her character?
2. While in the canoe, what topic does Sheila talk about the most?
3. Explain the tug-of-war going inside the narrator. What are his options? Find a quote to
support your answer.
4. What does the narrator decide to do? Why is this significant to the plot? Is he happy with
his choice?
5. What life lesson did the narrator learn?
Addressing the Essential Questions
1. What event in this story was a rite of passage and how did the event lead to the narrator’s
character development?
2. What was significant about this event for the narrator? How did it change him?
3. What influenced the narrator’s decision: nature or nurture? What will influence his future
decisions?