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Grover Dill and the Tasmanian Devil
(from A Christmas Story)
By Jean Shepherd
“Grover Dill and the Tasmanian Devil” is a short story that was written and read on the radio by the very famous writer and radio personality, Jean Shepherd. It was eventually incorporated, along with some of his other short essays, into the quintessential Christmas movie, A Christmas Story.
Jean Shepherd has an outstanding way of describing life growing up in Northern Indiana in the 1950’s. Although the story happened in another era, the stories are timeless, shown by the fact that one TV station runs the movie over and over again every year during the Christmas holiday.
Shepherd’s special talent lies in his wonderful descriptions of his childhood. The descriptions are colorful and written with a great memory for all of the emotions and exaggerations of a young boy. He doesn’t just tell you what life was like, but also makes you take a seat on that roller-coaster ride of youth.
The text can be read online at: http://schaus.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/grover_dill_fulltext.PDF
****Please check off each of these five exercises as you do them, and hand in all papers when you are done:
□ 1. First, before reading the story, look up the vocabulary words. The definitions will help you to better understand the story.
□ 2. Then, read the story. Try to get the feel for what the fictional narrator was trying to convey by the exaggerations that he uses and the words that he chooses. Choosing good words is important when setting up the mood of a story.
□ 3. Answer the questions about the story.
□ 4. Do the worksheet Writing 1: Good Sentences/ Specific Words –pages 28-33.
□ 5. Now it’s time to write on your own.
Grover Dill and the Tasmanian Devil---Vocabulary Words
Skulk
Fetid
Succulent
Supple
Primal
Raven
Incorrigible
Nocturnal
Marsupial
Primal
Toady
Barnacles
Malevolent
Insurgent
Puff-Adder
Flue
Burr
Eddying
Exultant
Retribution
Cowering
Conglomeration
Grover Dill and the Tasmanian Devil
1. In what state does the story take place?
2. What was the name of the larger story that this short story is taken from?
3. According to Ralph, the world is divided into three kinds of people. What were they?
4. What two things embarrassed Ralph about what happened?
5. What does the way that Ralph’s mother handles the situation tell you about her personality?