Section+2+or+3+Requirements

Section 2/3 Requirements:
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Vocabulary:
1. **desultorily**: lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful pg.173 p.2 "They never got a real blaze going and the pile was still sputtering **desultorily** as dawn began to break."

2. **ignominious**: marked by or attended with ignominy (disgrace; dishonor; public contempt); discreditable; humiliating pg.175 p.5 "If the wardens spotted the unfurled hoverboards, Zane's escape would come to an **ignominious** end, and Tally would have gone against Shay for nothing."

3. **maelstrom**: a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool pg.211 p.1 "Then the board dropped again, and Tally realized that she was hitting random pockets of low pressure in the **maelstrom**, the board abruptly finding itself without enough air to push against."

4. **caromed**: any strike and rebound, as a ball striking a wall and glancing off pg.267 p.8 "She **caromed** off bodies and the walls, but managed to keep moving, letting her wild energy carry her."

5. **aberration**: the act of deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type pg.291 p.1 "Which would mean that Tally really was an **aberration**, a dangerous weapon, someone who needed to be cured

6. **miscreants**: a vicious or depraved person; villain pg.326 p.7 "A lot's happened while you and your **miscreants** have been wandering around in the wild"

7. **dermal**: of or pertaining to the skin pg.349 p.9 "A **dermal** braid was pressed against her arm, its needles spraying a flash of local painkiller before sliding into her veins."

8. **anesthetic**: an agent that causes loss of sensation with or without the loss of consciousness pg.350 p.1 "She wondered when they'd start pumping serous anesthetic into her, and if her metabolism could keep her awake."

9. **credence**: belief as to the truth of something pg.344 p.1 "As Dr. Cable's surgical experiments became infamous, Diego's repeated denials that it had attacked the armory slowly gained **credence**."

10. **paramount**: chief in importance or impact; supreme; preeminent pg.360 p.5 "The old static bubblehead culture had been replaced by a world where change was **paramount**."

1. The action of the passage is Tally and Shay frantically escaping form the hospital in Diego where Zane died after their city starts attacking Diego for their city thought that Diego broke into the Armory although it was Tally and Shay who broke into the Armory. The subject was Tally and Shay.

2. **Diction examples**: pg.267 p.4 "the milling crowd barely noticed the matching blue streak hurtling through them." pg.267 p.5 "She caromed off bodies and the walls but managed to keep moving letting her wild energy carry her." pg.268 p.3 "She spun wildly amid the fracas, sending yellow figures staggering in all directions." pg.269 p.2 "They burst they burst through the last door and onto the roof."

"a cluster of wardens stood in their yellow-black uniforms, shock-sticks glowing in the soft pastel light." pg.268 p.2 "The night overhead glittered with thousands of stars, beautifully clear." pg.269 p.4 "People were streaming out of the hospital, staff in pale blue and white, and patients in flimsy gowns-some walking, some being pushed along on hovercarriers." pg.269 p.8
 * Detail Examples:** "a long straight hallway stretched in both directions." pg.267 p.3

"the alarm echoing down its length." pg.267 p.7 "glowing in the soft pastel light." pg.268 p.2 "with the smell of fresh lightning." pg.268 p.3 "dampening the earsplitting shriek of the alarm." pg.268 p.6 "Tally tried to suck in a breath of fresh air, but the smell of hospital still poured from the forest of exhaust chimneys around them." pg.269 p.5 "She could hear the weakness in Shay's voice now." pg.270 p.10 **
 * Imagery Examples: "The shriek of an alarm split the air." pg.267 p.5

"sizzling like mosquitoes frying on a bug light." pg.268 p.3 "she'd cut through those wardens like a scythe." pg.269 p.14
 * Comparison Examples:** "like they were statues." pg.267 p.4

3. The author's attitude toward this subject is remorseful and paranoid for Tally is still in shock after she watched Zane die and due to the constant reminder of the loud, shrieking evacuation alarm in the hospital, it shows how frantic and paranoid Tally and Shay are while escaping. He also wanted to show, at the end of the passage how angry Tally had been at Shay since Shay was no longer Special like Tally wanted her to be and Tally felt alone as a Special."

4. Scott Westerfeld uses language to create a hectic, frantic, and paranoid tone in this passage from __Specials__. Pages 267-270 of __Specials__ introduces how frantic, paranoid, and remorseful Tally and Shay are after Zane died and they must run away from the hospital because it is evacuating due to Tally's city attacking Diego.The author introduces the setting and tone of the escape from the hospital by using the literary elements of diction, details, imagery, and comparison. Throughout the passage, Westerfeld uses a specific word choice or diction to specifically give the reader a clearer sense of the scene that other words which may have not conveyed the message as well or given the reader that specific frame of mind.

The author introduces the hectic, frantic, remorseful, and paranoid tone and setting of the hospital by using the literary elements of diction, details, imagery, and comparison. Using a specific word choice, descriptive details, words or phrases that provoke the senses, and similes and metaphors allows the reader to picture the scene in their head and to get a clearer picture of the scene than ordinary sentences without the mentioned literary elements setting the tone that helps the reader to see how Shay and Tally are desperately trying to escape the Hospital with the different obstacles such as wardens and crowds of confused patients and people. Scott Westerfeld used diction, which is word choice, to allow the reader to understand Tally and Shay's goal to get out of the hospital before their city starts attacking Diego for they though that Diego had got into their Armory when it was actually Tally and Shay. When Tally and Shay are running for their lives along hospital corridors, Tally recalls how hastily they were moving and the effects of that on the people in the hospital. "the milling crowd barely noticed the matching blue streak hurtling through them..." She continues to recall, "She caromed off bodies and the walls but managed to keep moving letting her wild energy carry her." (Westerfeld pg.267). With this statement, Tally is acknowledging the swift pace she had and how determined she was to get out of the hospital in Diego for she did not want to be detected by the people from her city. She also senses how the crowd is stunned by their "Special" speed and how she was escaping so fast, that she was moving recklessly such as hitting walls and other people while running through the hospital. It also shows how happy Tally was to be using her special powers after so long. Besides diction, Scott Westerfeld also used details in the passage to allow the reader to sense the hectic, frantic, remorseful, and paranoid tone of the passage.

Scott Westerfeld used detail to allow the reader to get a clearer image of certain elements in the scene where Tally and Shay escape from the hospital such as the surrounding people in the hospital such as wardens and patients and the general layout of the hospital such as the stairwell, roof, and corridors that Tally and Shay are running in which also showcases the fact that they were moving swiftly and recklessly through the hospital before people from their city completely destroyed the hospital while everyone else was evacuating. When Tally and Shay are running for their lives out of the hospital, they burst onto the roof and Tally recalls how good it felt to be outside after being stuck in the padded cell for so long. She recalls that, "The night overhead glittered with thousands of stars, beautifully clear." They then go to the other side of the roof and gazed over the edge at the people who were evacuating the hospital where Tally recalls the sight, "People were streaming out of the hospital, staff in pale blue and white, and patients in flimsy gowns-some walking, some being pushed along on hovercarriers." (Westerfeld pg.269). With this statement, Tally acknowledges that although she and Shay are frantically escaping the hospital, people around them do not have to share their pain and problems. She also compares how the outside sky is so calm and beautiful while all she sees in "her own little world" after Zane died and the people from her city are about to come is sadness, grief, and the necessity to get out of the hospital. The details allow the reader a clearer image of how sad Tally felt about the loss of Zane, how other people were reacting to the evacuation alarm, and how different two things can be at the same time. Scott Westerfeld also used imagery to convey the frantic,hectic, remorseful, and paranoid tone and setting of the passage.

The author used imagery in this passage to provoke the reader's senses and to allow the senses to engage in the ideas and details in this passage which helps the reader to understand the ideas in the passage through more than just reading the words on the page. The reader is able to use their five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) to comprehend the passage even further. Just as Tally and Shay emerge from the hospital room where Zane died, Tally recalls how, "** The shriek of an alarm split the air." As time advances as they try to escape, Tally continues to recall how the alarm continued, " **** the alarm echoing down its length... **** dampening the earsplitting shriek of the alarm." (Westerfeld pg.267-268). This statement shows how the extremely loud alarm served as a constant reminder to Tally and Shay to hurry up and escape from the hospital. It also causes Tally and Shay to run more recklessly and become more frantic paranoid as it progresses. The evacuation alarm scares them so much because the more it rings, Tally and Shay feel the closer people from their city are to destroying Diego. These phrases allow the reader to almost "hear" for themselves what Tally and Shay heard which allows them to embrace the mood and tone of the passage easier. **Another literary element that Westerfeld used to set the setting, scene, and tone of the passage was comparison.

The author used the literary element of comparison, such as similes and metaphors to convey the messages of the scene further which also helps the reader to understand the passage better. In many instances similes and metaphors help the reader to understand the purpose of that sentence by comparing it to something that the reader may be more familiar with. When Shay and Tally are hurrying through the crowded hospital to escape from it, Shay quickly and aggressively sprinted through the crowds of doctors and patients "as is they were statues..." and, "like a scythe". When Tally and Shay are cornered by the wardens, Tally recalls the sound of the wardens' shock-sticks hitting the armored scales of her sneak suit "sizzling like mosquitoes frying on a bug light." (Westerfeld pg.267-269). These similes allow the reader to compare Shay's ability to get through the crowds to things that are very easy to navigate through. They also allow the reader to know what the sound of shock-sticks on sneak suits are like for they have not visually seen a sneak-suit yet but by comparing it to mosquitoes on a bug light, the reader is able to visualize the sizzling. These similes show how frantically and recklessly Shay moved through the crowd because she and Tally were determined to get out of the hospital fast. It also leads up to how disappointed Tally is when she realizes that despite her powers, Shay is no longer Special. These four literary elements enhance Scott Weterfeld's passage in __Specials.__ They also help to show the author's tone in the passage and to give the reader a better understanding of the action and subject in the passage to make the reading better.

The big picture of the passage is how desperate Tally and Shay are to get out of the hospital in Diego, where Zane died, before agents from their city destroyed Diego. It is also how upset Tally is when she realizes that her best friend over the ages who together had gone through so much was no longer special like Tally was. The passage leads to Tally going on hoverboard back to her city to confront Dr.Cable about Diego and Tally being angry at Shay for not being Special like she was anymore because Tally's vision of a Utopia was everyone being Special like she was such as Zane who ended up dead because of that. In the passage, Tally and Shay have just come out from the hospital room in which Zane died. This leads to melancholy feelings from Tally for all she wanted was for Zane to be a Cutter just like she was. There are comments about how the night was so beautiful which contrasts with how sad and un-icy Tally was feeling although Tally had done a great job of fighting those feelings while she was running for her life to get out of the hospital which was the focus of this passage. It shows how tough people like Tally can be and also her tragic flaw: she wanted everyone to be Special like she was as if she was the center of the world, which led to Zane's death and the destruction of Diego. The passage serves as almost a warning about the Consequences of Greed, one of the motifs in the book.

Literary Letter:
Dear Mrs.Morgan, Two days ago, I finished rereading the novel __Specials__ by Scott Westerfeld. When I first read it, most of it did not make sense causing me to abandon it but the second time I read it, the plot fell into place and I understood it. The main problem I have with this book is the fact that it goes too quickly. For instance, Tally has just seen Zane die but instead of there being more details about Tally's feeling, the book immediately shifts to the action scene where Shay and Tally are running for their lives away from the hospital. I am one of those readers who likes to marinate in the moment and feel the emotion but I believe I can exculpate the author for no author can please everyone.

I have found that this book has very unique and distinguishable motifs in it. In most books, it is hard to find one but in this book, there were many and they were easy to locate. The most prominent one was the theme of Betrayal. In the book, Tally is often having to choose between who she wants to be with and what she wants to be. For instance, when Tally makes the difficult decision of deciding to stay with Zane instead of accompanying Shay to find Fausto, Shay leaves in a huff which I believe makes Tally even more confused. I feel sorry for her since she has been tossed around o much in the series from Ugly to Pretty to Special. She needs time to adjust.

Another motif is the Faithful Friend motif. Tally and Shay have gone through so much together and each has each other's backs although when they fight, their friendship is in pieces. Although they have been able to save eac other throughout the book, such as when Tally rescues Shay from the Smokies and later when Shay rescues Tally from the hospital, they end up fighting over things concerning how Special they are. Tally believes that everyone should be Special and actually abandoned Shay near the end of the book for not being Special like er and Shay abandoned Tally when Tally wanted to stay with Zane instead of the other Cutters. I believe that they need to be a bit more diplomatic towards one another instead of being so dramatic.

This last motif is very important to the plot of the story. When Zane dies at the hospital after and unsuccessful surgery, Tally realizes the Consequences of Greed that led to his death. Tally wanted Zane to be a Cutter just like her so they could be together instead of hinm being an unequal. When Tally breaks into the Armory with Shay to stage a trick so that Zane becomes a Cutter, her city thought Diego had done it which caused Diego's destruction. Due to Zane's brain damage from Maddy's pills, he had died trying to be the Special Tally wanted and forced him to be giving the book a melancholy ending.

Sincerely, Avilasha Sinha

Motifs and Themes:
1. **The Quest** is often shown in the book because from the first page of the book, Tally and the other Cutters are hunting for the Smokies, especially David, who were making and handing out the pills with the nanos to Pretties.

2. Throughout the first book, Tally is always recalling her **Special Powers/ Abilities** that have been given to her after the surgery and the new ways that her senses have helped her, such as her improved hearing and strength that were so different from her times as a Pretty Bubblehead.

3. Throughout the first book, there are **Magical Transformations** because whenever Tally cuts herself or when she was dunked into the river, she magically transforms into someone who sees things with sudden, intense clarity.

4. The **Faithful Friend** is often shown through the book because Tally and Shay are often rescuing each other, such as when Tally saves Shay from being captured by Smokies, and are always willing to help each other out through thinck and thin.

5. **The Love Triangle** is shown in the book because although Tally and Shay no longer are in love with David, Tally still references how Shay still held a grudge over her for stealing David from her when they were in the Smoke. Although they joked about it, Tally still does not like to adress that subject for she is afraid it would disrupt their friendship.

6. The theme of **Betrayal** is shown through the book because when Tally met Zane after becoming a Cutter, she felt betrayed that Zane wanted to stay a Pretty Bubblehead insstead of becoming a Special Cutter like she and Shay were.

7. The **Food** throughout the book is the same type of food which is made of soy based products to replace meat and is usually Asian such as PadThai and CurryNoods. It shows how people in the future have so much Asian influence and how they have evolved from eating real meat.

8. The theme of **Separation** has just been shown in the book. Shay is extremely angry when Tally separates herself from Shay and the rest of the Cutters in the wilderness to accompany Zane and the other Crims. Shay is very angry that Tally would rather be with Pretties than herself and other Cutters who Shay believes Tally is a part of and she should be with.

9. **The Consequences of Greed Theme** is shown through the book because when Tally is seeing Zane on his deathbed, she is thinking how he would not have died if he had not come to Diego after she somewhat forced him to because she wanted him to be a Cutter like she was and how she had left Zane to wander around Diego which led to his death.

10. **The Theme of Illness** is shown through this book through how the whole city has been brainwashed through Dr. Cable's surgeries and how the lesions have been affecting so many including Zane who also had brain damage from the pills that Maddy and Az had been mass-producing to the city.