Lesson 4: Guided Reading: Chapters 5-8
In this lesson we will look at chapters 5 through 8. They are: Short Shrift, Faintly Macabre's Story, The Royal Banquet and The Humbug Volunteers. If you haven't read these chapters, please do so now before continuing with this lesson.
Do Now for Chapters 5-8
What does the phase "eat your words" mean to you? How was this phrase used in the story. Why did Milo want to eat his words?
Chapter Summaries
In these chapters, Milo meets several characters who help him to understand the purpose of his journey. They are Officer Shrift, Faintly Macabre, and King Azaz.
At the beginning of Chapter 5 we find Milo in the Marketplace, trying to get over the problems created by the Humbug. Officer Shrift comes and declares everyone guilty without a trial. He sentences Milo to six million years in prison. Milo and Tock are taken to a dungeon where they meet Faintly Macabre.
Faintly Macabre tells Milo the story of Rhyme and Reason and how the two cities of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis came to be. She helps Milo understand the problem that the two kings have and why Rhyme and Reason are so important.
Since Officer Shrift only likes to sentence people, not keep them imprisoned, Milo and Tock find they are free to leave the prison. They attend the Royal Banquet where they meet King Azaz, ruler of Dictionopolis. The Humbug volunteers them to save the princesses, so Milo, Tock and the Humbug soon find themselves on their way to the kingdom of Digitopolis.
