Castles #4: Death of a Friend

Situation:
Imagine you are John Dante, right after chapter 7 in the novel. You're still at home, having yet to enlist in the military or leave your family. You've just been given word that your best friend, Tony - the one you admired for his strength and courage, the one who was the first to enlist in the military - has died in battle. He was just 18.

Prompt:
What is your reaction to the news of Tony's death? How would you be feeling towards your family? Towards Tony? About his decision to enlist? How would you feel towards the military? Towards the war? Towards the world or life in general? Does this news change your decision to enlist, or does it bolster your decision?

Castles #3: Diane

Situation:
In chapter 5, John talks about how each member of his family did their best to support the war. Dad goes off to UCLA to work, mom gets a job, and John's going to enlist. John mentions how his sister Diane became the most important thing to several of the neighborhood boys who were getting ready to go off to war. Over the course of weeks, she goes out on several dates with them. John says, "How could she say no when they asked her to a movie, to a dance, to walk along the city streets with them? She could not say no" (29). He mentions how after only a few dates, "Diane would come home distracted, worried" and that he "could sometimes hear her weeping softly in her room" (30).

Prompt:
Explain: Why did Diane go out with these boys? Why did she not turn them down? What was she hoping to do? Why do you think she ended up crying in her room after a few dates with each boy? What was going on?