Collections Grade 7 Guiding Questions
Collection 6
“from Uprising” by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Read the selection from the historical novel Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Then, reread the lines indicated with each question below. Answer each question, citing text evidence.
1. Lines 7–10: What does this internal dialogue reveal about Yetta?
2. Lines 23–26: What does the author’s description of the characters’ actions reveal about the real-life working conditions at the factory? How does this description of the working conditions compare to the description in lines 21–30 of the excerpt from Flesh & Blood So Cheap?
3. Lines 63–68: Compare these lines to lines 31–44 of the excerpt from Flesh & Blood So Cheap. What similarities are there between the two accounts? How does the author’s description of the scene in Uprising reveal it to be historical fiction?
4. Lines 91–103: Describe the change in Yetta’s character that is depicted.
5. Lines 118–129: Why does Yetta think she and Mr. Bernstein were on the same side?
6. Lines 161–165: Compare these lines to lines 91–96 of the excerpt from Flesh & Blood So Cheap. What details are similar in each account of the spreading fire? What would likely be the source of the detail about the air seeming to be on fire that makes it a fact and not an image from the author’s imagination?
7. Lines 202–204: Why does the author choose to use a candle metaphor for Yetta’s life at this point in the story?
8. Lines 205–213: Compare these lines from this historical fiction text to lines 5–7 of the history writing Flesh & Blood So Cheap. Give examples of how the author of Uprising took these details and expanded them into fiction.
9. Lines 237–243: Why does Yetta feel compelled to warn the workers on the ninth floor?
10. Lines 248–261: What does the evidence of Jane’s relationship with her boss at the Blanck household reveal about Jane’s job?
11. Lines 293–315: What is Jane’s attitude toward Harriet’s questions? How do you know?
12. Lines 333–337: Explain why Jane gladly returns the elevator operator’s wink.
13. Lines 388–400: Compare these lines to lines 21–27 of the excerpt from Flesh & Blood So Cheap. How does the author’s description of the ninth floor in Uprising make the facts presented in Flesh & Blood So Cheap more compelling?
14. Lines 406–414: Explain why the sight of the workers hunched over their irons agitated Jane and made her want to leave quickly.
15. Lines 468–470: Make an inference about Jane’s relationship with Bella.
16. Lines 480–486: What is an example of a cultural detail that likely came from sources about the time period rather than about the Triangle Factory Fire itself? Describe how the addition of this detail enhances the story.
17. Lines 504–507: Why might Jane decide to lie to Bella’s boss?
18. Lines 516–521: How do these lines create dramatic irony in the story?
19. Lines 544–555: What is the simile in lines 544–545? Describe the effect of this simile on the story events. In lines 546–555 what details reinforce this interpretation of the image created by the simile?
20. Lines 568–570: Look back at the historical account in Flesh & Blood So Cheap to find nonfiction evidence of what is described here in Uprising. What details were added by the author of Uprising that bring this part of the story to life? Describe the impact of these details.
21. Lines 606–616: How might the fire escape collapse have been depicted differently if the author were telling the story from Jane’s perspective looking out the window?
22. Lines 659–671: Who does Bella save? Cite evidence from the section of the story titled “Bella” to support your answer.