Whirligig

In chapter two, Stephanie, a girl of thirteen or fourteen, is the narrator. Her best friend, Alexandra, is taking her to the whirligig to teach her about the power of thoughts and visualization....

Chapter three is called “The Afterlife.” Here we learn that Brent wasn’t sentenced to jail time or to a stint in a detention center, as a result of causing the car accident that killed Lea Zamora....

The whirligig comes to symbolize, at first, the constant pressure to succeed that Tony feels from his parents, and then, later, the need for rest. Tony, a Korean boy, feels under tremendous...

In the chapter, Brent arrives in Beale Beach, Florida. After settling in, he begins work at one of three picnic tables near a boarded-up ice cream shop. The beach area is empty, and Brent works...

While this chapter doesn't come right out and point out the whirligig, when the man gets off the boat and walks down the pier, he stops to look at the "wooden marching band." This is the whirligig...

There are nine chapters in the novel Whirligig. Chapter Eight is titled San Diego, California. As the chapter begins, Jenny is portrayed as a typical fifteen year old teenager. It is her task to...

In Chapter 5, titled "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," Brent realizes that he hasn't packed any long-sleeved shirts, nor has he remembered to pack shampoo. As a result, he's too cold, and his hair is...

In the beginning of the book, Brent is just like any normal teenager who struggles to find his place among his high school peers. He is perhaps a little self-conscious, but he knows that he has to...

In Chapter 9, I actually found seven references comparing whirligigs to other objects and people. I've listed them below in the order in which they appear in the chapter. 1. The final whirligig...

The whirligig Brent builds in Maine is the largest and most intricate of the four. He stays at a campsite which is described as peaceful and calm. By this point in the novel, Brent is ready to face...

For his birthday, Tony asks "for a new baseball mitt, a remote-control car, a Nintendo, and a gift certificate to Sam's Sports Cards". He receives "...two shirts, a microscope, a new music...

In chapter 5 of Whirligig, Brent's on his way to San Diego after having had a pretty unpleasant time of it in San Francisco. The experience hasn't been a dead loss, however, as he's bought himself...

If you are referring to the female artist Brent met in Weeksboro, Maine, the answer is that the author never reveals the name of the woman. Both Brent and the artist share an intimate...

Brent's apprentices in Chapter 7 are a group of young children who happen to come around as he is constructing his whirligig on the beach near the small town of Beale Beach, Florida. At first...

Brent turns up to a chess-themed party despite not having been invited. At that party, the host Chaz plans a giant chess game, and wants Brent to be one of the pieces. Brent is none too pleased at...

In Chapter Eight, Jenny takes her grandmother for a drive. Although Jenny is anxious about driving a manual car, her grandmother seems to be oblivious to Jenny's discomfort. Before long, Jenny...

Brent is an only child. His family is materially well-off, and his life is comfortable, although his parents seem to be emotionally distant. Brent and his family have been in Chicago for only a few...

Brent Bishop appears to us as an aimless teenager in the first chapter of the book. He just goes along with what life deals to him, even though he often doesn’t agree with it. Part of his negative...

Brent fortunately gains maturity throughout the course of Whirligig. He is, after all, only a junior in high school. And his penance for the accident causes him to grow up and to develop his own...

This chapter is called “Apprentices.” Brent has made his way by bus from California to Tampa, on Florida’s Gulf coast. On a beach, he finds “a boarded-up ice cream shop” that is closed for the...

More about the whirligigs: In Weeksboro, Maine, two eighth graders Stephanie and Alexandra encounter a whirligig. On a trip to the coast, the two discuss their romantic inclinations but disagree...

Because he was driving under the influence when he caused Lea Zamora's death, Brent is charged with DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and manslaughter. Brent's parents hire a lawyer and a...

Alexandra and Steph show up in the second chapter, titled “Weeksboro, Maine.” They’re eighth graders, and it’s Christmas time, so a lot of snow is on the ground. Alexandra thinks Steph should get a...

At the beginning of the book, Brent listens to music to get himself in the right mood to deal with going to the party. Fleischman writes of Brent, "And keeping the right music flowing, using...

Throughout his journey, Brent meets a variety of people who he connects with. When Brent meets Emil, Brent imagines him as some sort of smarter, better version of himself, since they look similar...

The Florida whirligig takes the shape of a marching band. Flaco is instantly struck by the message it seems to convey. For a long time, he's been profoundly dissatisfied with his life. He toils...

In the book, Jenny is a teenager who discovers one of Brent's whirligigs in San Diego. According to the story, she lives with her parents and ailing grandmother. One day, Jenny's grandmother asks...

Jonathan is a friend of Brent's from school. Brent gives him a ride to the party, which is hosted by a friend of Jonathan's. When Jonathan comes out and gets in Brent's car, he explains that his...

Another simile in chapter 5 of Whirligig comes when Brent leaves the hostel to walk to the park he'd glimpsed the day before. There he hopes to be able to work on his next whirligig without being...

When you re-read a chapter with a specific focus in mind – like searching for a symbol – you may surprise yourself by what you discover the second or third time around. I found three potentially...

Whirligig is a 1998 young adult novel written by American author Paul Fleischmann. The novel tells the story of seventeen-year-old Brent Bishop. Following a humiliating experience at a popular...

Since the accident happens just after the end of the first chapter, “Party Time,” we’re talking about the action in the entire rest of the book. Brent causes the car accident that kills Lea Zamora....

Like most young adults, Brent Bishop wants to be popular, and he wants to fit in. So one night he goes to a party. His fateful decision will change his life forever, and end someone else's. At the...

What Flaco wants more than anything is peace. He wants to be like the shearwater, a bird whom he imagines "live(s) alone, far away from land...no other birds around...very peaceful". Flaco's whole...

In the third chapter, “The Afterlife,” we follow Brent’s first attempt to build a whirligig at a park in Washington state. He has an old instruction book on how to make them. But he’s not a natural...

Mrs. Zamora was actually the only one who consented to meet with Brent; her husband, still reeling from Lea's death and still upset about Brent's part in it, had refused to meet with the teenager....

Flaco gets his nickname because of his skinny body. Flaco is the man who finds Brent's whirligig in Miami, Florida. When Paul Fleischman writes about his life, he explains that Flaco is a nickname...

The main character, Brent, changes over the course of the novel. He begins as a self-centered teenager concerned with impressing others. He makes immature choices, such as drinking underage and...

In the "Miami, Florida" chapter, the main conflict is person versus person. The character's main conflict is that he can't find lasting peace in society, no matter where he goes. Inevitably,...

In “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (chapter 5), Brent builds the whale whirligig that Jenny and her grandmother visit in “San Diego” (chapter 8). A comparison of the two chapters is necessary to...

The narrator in Chapter 4 is from an immigrant family from Puerto Rico. As a newcomer, he has a difficult time at school, and is put into a class for retarded children because he does not speak...

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, in Act V, scene 1, Feste says, "...-and thus the whirligig of time of time brings in his revenge." to which Malvolio replies, "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of...

Alexandra feels that the spot by the whirligig is a good place to visualize things because the whirligig itself exemplifies the tenets of guided imagery. According to Alexandra, guided imagery is a...

Brent Bishop is a junior in high school in Whirligig. He and his parents now live in the Chicago area, where Brent goes to a private school called Montfort. They had previously lived in...

Paul Fleischmann's Whirligig is a story which tells of actions and consequences. Brent Bishop, the protagonist of the story, makes a horrible decision to kill himself (after being humiliated at a...

The real reason that the strange man asks Brent for directions is to distract him. The man wants to occupy Brent's attention so that he will be less likely to detect any suspicious movements in his...

Three key words to consider for the whole story are whirligig, penance, and atonement. A whirligig is a wooden toy that has arms that whirl or move whenever the wind blows. Brent has to make four...

The answer comes in the third chapter, “The Afterlife.” Brent had been driving drunk when he caused the car accident that killed Lea Zamora. Amazingly enough, he wasn’t sentenced to jail time or a...

Chaz, in Paul Fleischman's Whirligig is one of the most popular people at Montford, the private school our main character attends. Chaz is known for throwing large elaborate parties, and this night...

The preacher's words disturb Brent because they reference his current situation. Like Cain in the Bible, Brent is essentially living in exile. In complying with Mrs. Zamora's wishes, Brent...