Example of SQ3R “The Running Brook of Horror”

1.  SURVEY: Key Words

Cobra, Grace Wiley, amputation, herpetologist, reptiles, venom, entomology, zoologist, strychnine, tourniquet, struck, bitten, died

2.  QUESTIONS:

  1. Who is Grace Wiley?
  2. What’s the connection between a herpetologist and an entomologist in this story?
  3. Why did they use strychnine?
  4. Why was a tourniquet needed?
  5. Does a snake bite someone?

PREDICTION: I predict this story is about a woman who handles snakes and gets bitten and must have a body part amputated.

REVISE/RESPONSE:

1.  Grace Wiley is a woman who houses snakes, frogs, crocodiles and alligators, and other various reptiles, poisonous and non-poisonous.

2.  Grace Wiley used to be entomologist, who was afraid of snakes, but after her divorce, she began pursuing snakes as a career, and a herpetologist is a person who studies snakes.

3.  They use strychnine in the story to stimulate the heart into beating when snake venom may be causing it to stop.

4.  They were going to use a tourniquet to amputate Grace’s finger after she was bitten by a cobra, but the tourniquet was dry-rotted, so it just snapped.

5.  A cobra bites Grace, and kills her 90 minutes later.

SUMMARY:

This story is about Grace Wiley, a woman who used to be an entomologist, but later in life decided that her passion lied in reptiles. The author was informed of her by a zoologist, so he went to meet her so he could write an article about her. While he was visiting and interviewing her, he realized how wonderful she was at taking care and taming. Later in the story, the author goes to take a few final pictures of Grace with a new cobra she has purchased who has a “G” on its back. In order to look good for the picture, she takes off her glasses, and the cobra spread its hood and struck her. She could not believe it had struck her. The venom begins to flow through her body, and they try to stop it with a tourniquet and possibly amputation. They were not quite prepared, and she was taken to the hospital where she died 90 minutes after being bitten.