The Body

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-12 

Reading Check

1. What part of Teddy DuChamp’s body is disfigured?

2. What is the name of the boy who was killed picking blueberries?  

3. What does Chris pack to take with him on the trip that startles Gordie?

4. What is the name of the terrifying dog rumored to patrol the dump?

5. Which boy loses the coin toss and goes to the Florida Market to get provisions?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In the first chapter, what does the narrator state are the hardest things to say, and what makes them so?

2. What causes Teddy’s father to behave so violently when he punishes Teddy for breaking a plate? What is Teddy’s attitude toward his father as a result?

3. What effect has the death of Dennis, Gordie’s brother, had on the remaining members of the Lachance family? 

4. What is “Stud City,” and how does the narrator of The Body feel about it in retrospect?

Paired Resource

“The Rise of Stephen King”

• This short article from the BYU College of the Humanities examines King’s evolving literary reputation and the special praise he receives for his shorter fiction.   
• This article relates to the theme The Purpose of Stories.
• How did Stephen King overcome criticism to prove the value and power of his stories? How does Gordie’s success as a writer mirror Stephen King’s experience?  

“Supporting Children Through Times of Grief”

• This article from the Mayo Clinic contextualizes the effects of grief on children and shines a light on their need for encouragement from loved ones.
• This article offers information that connects to the theme of The Pain of Love and Loss.  
• Based on this article, what appropriate support does Gordie receive as he grieves for his brother, Dennis? What additional support might his friends and family offer to help him in his grieving process?

CHAPTERS 13-24

Reading Check

1. What does David Hogan drink before the pie-eating contest to help him enact his revenge?

2. What was Chris Chambers accused of stealing at school, even after he returned it? 

3. What does Gordie encounter unexpectedly in the morning after the boys camp, which he calls “the best part of the trip” (Chapter 20)?

4. When the boys go swimming in the pool created by the beaver dam, what creatures do they encounter? 

5. Which of the boys issues the warning “Your friends drag you down” (Chapter 17)? 

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the “psychic flash” that Gordie experiences while crossing the trestle compel him to do, and what is the result?  

2. Why does Chris receive a suspension even after returning the stolen goods, and what does this tell him about his future?

Paired Resource

The Kosti Ruohomaa Collection

• Kosti Ruohomaa (1913-1961), known as “Maine’s Iconic Photographer,” documented the lives of Maine residents during the first half of the 20th century. His pictures offer a visual representation of what life would have been like in rural Maine around the time of Gordie’s birth.
• This collection of photographs relates to the themes The Purpose of Stories and Coming of Age and the Loss of Innocence.
• How do Ruohomaa’s photographs help you understand daily life for young people living in Maine in the 1950s? What challenges might Gordie and his family have faced? 

CHAPTERS 25-34   

Reading Check

1. What river do the boys reach, indicating they are near their destination?

2. What part of his Ray Brower’s body do the boys see first?

3. What does Gordie notice Ray Brower’s body was no longer wearing?   

4. Who makes a reference to Gordie’s deceased brother, Dennis, infuriating him?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who interrupts the boys at the site of Ray Brower’s body, and how does Chris convince them to leave?

2. What do the boys decide to do with Ray Brower’s body? How is the body eventually discovered by the authorities? 

3. How does Gordie’s mother respond when he returns home for the first time after being gone for several days? 

4. What consequences do the boys face in the following days after returning from their journey?

Paired Resource

Stand By Me, official theatrical trailer

• This 2-minute theatrical trailer previews the 1986 Academy-Award nominated film adaptation of The Body directed by Rob Reiner.
• This trailer offers visual imagery, voiceover, and dialogue that evoke the themes The Pain of Love and Loss and Coming of Age and the Loss of Innocence.
• Which important symbols and imagery from the novella do the filmmakers choose to include in the trailer? What elements do they include that are not possible in a text? 

Recommended Next Reads 

Night Shift by Stephen King  

• This collection of short fiction by Stephen King includes 20 early stories by the author and offers themes of blue-collar people surviving against vicious forces that are frequently gruesome and supernatural. 
• Shared themes include The Pain of Love and Loss.
• Shared topics include death, the power of the unconscious mind, and childhood trauma.       
• Night Shift on SuperSummary

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

• This classic coming-of-age story centers around a group of at-risk teenagers and friends known as “Greasers” who navigate a violent world absent of adult guidance and learn painful lessons about loss and grief.
• Shared themes include The Pain of Love and Loss and The Purpose of Stories.
• Shared topics include adolescent death, risky behavior, loyalty to one’s friend group, and violence.
• The Outsiders on SuperSummary