Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Mmmm... Crispin

Okay. That's inappropriate. But the title of this book (minus its subtitle, of course) kind of makes me think of potato chips.

Like I said: inappropriate. Still, we should take a minute (or two, or three) to think about the name of our title character—especially since he begins the book without a name.

"Asta's son." That's the only identity our protagonist has until he's nearly 14 years old.

What's in a Name?

It's hard to imagine what it would be like to be known only in relation to someone else. Clearly, there's a great deal of symbolism in the transformation of our title character from "Asta's son" to "Crispin."

And that transformation is appropriate (unlike my first subheading, above), because Crispin: The Cross of Lead is a classic coming-of-age story, or a bildungsroman, which is a much cooler term that means essentially the same thing.

We'll be talking about Crispin's transformation over the course of the book when we meet on Wednesday, so be sure to give it some thought. And, as usual, please peruse the potential assignments below and choose one to complete and be ready to discuss with the group.

Potential Assignments

#1: History Will Teach us... Something
Avi has set his tale in medieval England, and he's been very conscientious about giving us specific dates as well as making references to real historical events. Identify as many of these specific dates and events as you can and give us a primer. What is the Feast of St. Giles? What was going on in England in 1377 A.D.? Who is John Ball? There's a lot more where those came from. See what you can find.


#2: Bear's Words of Wisdom
It's hard not to like a singing, juggling, red-bearded giant with a heart of gold, but it's Bear's words that really win us over. He's full of philosophical gems like, "Living by answers is a form of death. It's only questions that keep you living" (Ch. 24, par. 23). Locate a few of Bear's gems and be ready to share  and discuss them. Be sure to note the chapter and paragraph where they appear so we can all find them in our editions.

#3: Symbolism
As I mentioned above, there's some definite symbolism in the protagonist's transformation from being known as "Asta's son" to fully embracing his given name, "Crispin." Be ready to offer your thoughts on that instance of symbolism in the book, or choose another example of symbolism that you've found and walk us through that one. What's the symbol? What happens with/to the symbol? What does it all mean?

#4: Motifs
Motifs are different from symbols. Symbols are specific. Think "Piggy's glasses" or "the conch" in Lord of the Flies. Motifs, on the other hand, are recurring images, objects, words, phrases, actions, or ideas that pop-up throughout a book. Again, from Lord of the Flies, think "shadows," "masks," or "Christian imagery." Motifs help to unify a story and are often used to suggest greater meaning. So.... do you see any motifs in Crispin: The Cross of Lead? See if you can come up with one and figure out what it's all about.

#5: Imagery & Road Trips
Um... those two things don't necessarily go together perfectly, but I wanted to make sure I gave you an assignment tailored toward creating some kind of picture. So, for this assignment, you can do one of the following.

• 5A: One thing you may not have known about this book (unless you read the author interview), is that Avi originally wrote it in verse format, like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Some of that structure is still evident in the ample imagery that is included in Avi's language. Find an example of this imagery (in Avi's poetic descriptions of characters or places) and use his words to help you create a sketch (painting, drawing, collage).
  
  OR

• 5B: Make us a map that illustrates Crispin's travels through England. Be sure to highlight places where significant events take place. 

All right. That's it. Happy reading and I'll see you on Wednesday.