A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator



A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator

Section 1 p.1-57

CHARACTER SKETCHER

Your job is to sketch one of the following characters: Violet, Gunther (Olaf), Klaus, Sunny, Jerome, Esme’ Squalor, the doorman, or Mr. Poe.

Adventurous: Violet is adventurous in this passage because she is trying an aqueous martini, which she has never had before. She also adventurous in the way that she lives and being willing to try and find new homes, and the way she explores around the penthouse. p.26 par. 4.

Thoughtful: Violet is thoughtful when she opens her package from Esme’ and finds the pinstripe suit that she is not very fond of, however still acts excited and thanks Esme’ for the gift. p.49-50 par. 7

Inventor: Violet is called an inventor by Klaus since she loves to invent and make things. She is always coming up with ideas of things to put together and make. p.31 par. 6.

Character Goal: Violet’s goal is to take care of her siblings and to find the triplets; as well as to find a suitable trustworthy place for her and her siblings to live.

Character Problem: Violet and her siblings have lost their parents and have no place to live. They now live with the Squalors, who have a very nice place, however, things still don’t seem right and they are still missing the triplets.

Character Solution: Violet realizes that she actually has things going pretty good and shouldn’t be complaining about the little things that bother her, and decides to go along with what the Squalors tell her to do.

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DISCUSSION DIRECTOR

1. Which of the following is a characteristic portraying Jerome?

A. mean

B. gracious

C. cruel

D. despiteful

Answer: B: gracious p.27 par. 5

2. Compare/Contrast Jerome and Esme’ Squalor.

Answer: Jerome is a very friendly man and very willing to help the Baudelaires. He cared for them and showed them around and took them to places that were of interest to them. However Esme’ Squalor on the other hand was very self centered and was more concerned with what was “in” and what was not. She only allowed the Baudelaires to live in the penthouse because orphans were “in” and her friends would be jealous. The children rarely saw Esme’, however spent a lot of time with Jerome. p. 28 par. 2, p. 38 par. 2, and p. 40 par. 1.

3. What do you predict will happen when Esme’ Squalor meets with Gunther?

Answer: I think that Esme is up to no good. Since she is so persistent with getting the children and Jerome out of the house. I think that she is going to conspire with Gunther and they are going to do something evil to someone or something. Esme’ has an evil persona about herself and something just doesn’t seem right. p. 51 par. 2.

4. What about the penthouse caused the children to be miserable at times?

Answer: The vast size of the penthouse caused the children to be miserable at times. The penthouse had 71 rooms and the orphans would get lost all of the time. They would accidently leave things in one room and not remember how to get back to that room. They also didn’t have much in their bedrooms to entertain them, so they would get bored. p. 40-41.

5. What do you think will happen if orphans are not considered “in” anymore?

Answer: I think that Esme’ will want to get rid of them, however Jerome will want to keep them. But since Jerome doesn’t like to argue, I think that Esme’ will get rid of them and they will be back in Mr. Poe’s hands trying to find a new place to live. p. 28 par.2.

6. Do you think that Mr. Poe will find the Quagmire triplets?

Answer: No. Mr. Poe seems to be really out there at times and not very focused and persistent. He doesn’t really seem to take things the Baudelaire children say seriously or consider it very important. p. 10 par. 1.

PASSAGE PICKER

1. a. p. 33. par. 3

b. Esme’ dashed…city below

c. descriptive

d. This passage is a descriptive passage because it describes in great detail the

enormous room that the Baudelaries were in and all of the fancy furniture that was

contained in the room. It uses descriptive words like embroidered with silver,

painted with gold paint, made from wood chopped away from the most expensive

trees in the world.

e. Do you think that the children felt better living in such a luxurious place similar to the type of place they had been brought up in?

I think the children liked being in a place that was well kept where they each had their own room and clothes and blankets. However, I don’t think they felt like it was anything like home.

f. The author includes this passage to give the reader a sense of the type of place the orphans were living in. It gave you a sense of the type of atmosphere and how the children were going to be living.

2. a. p. 34 par. 1

b. They could… and worked.

c. Simile

d. This passage is a simile because it compares carriages and cars looking like insects from where they were looking.

e. Do you think the children wished that they were down there in the town where the cars where instead of up in the penthouse?

- Yes and No. I think that the orphans liked where they were for now, however looking back down at the town reminded them of their parents and the way things used to be and they missed that.

f. I think that the author added this passage to give the reader a sense of just how high up the penthouse was and what a long journey there really was to get to this penthouse day after day.

3. a. p. 28 par. 1

b. My wife…like one?

c. informative

d. This passage is informative because it tells about what type of person Esme’ is. It gives you a sense of what she is into and what is important to her.

e. Why do you think Esme’ is so concerned and wrapped up in what is “in”?

- I think that Esme’ just wants full attention and wants to be known for everything so the only way to do that is to be important and up to date on what is “in”. Obvesously feelings don’t matter to her, it’s all about what you have.

f. I think the author put this passage in the story because it gives you an idea of the type of person the children will be dealing with and living with. It gives you a sense of how much attention they will get from her and how she will treat them which I think is extremely important to the story.

4. a. p. 1 par 2

b. Like this…your hair.

c. informative

d. This passage is informative because it explains what the words nervous and anxious mean. It gives a definition of them so that the reader has a better sense of what they mean.

e. Do you think these words will apply throughout the entire story?

- yes. I think that the words will be significant in each section since the children seem to stay rather anxious about most everything that goes on.

f. I think the author explained these two words because they are going to be extremely significant and important to the whole novel. It sets the stage for what the story is going to be about and how the children will be feeling.

WORD WIZARD

1. a. anxious p. 1 par. 2

b. …-where as the word “anxious” means “troubled by disturbing suspense,” which you might feel if you were served a live alligator for dessert…

c. adj. Concerned, apprehensive

d. worried and eagerly awaiting something/someone

e. The word anxious gives the reader a sense of what to expect from the story. By knowing this word, they know that throughout the story they are going to encounter situations in which people will be anxious, so it sets the atmosphere for what the story is going to be like.

2. a. contemplate p. 2 par. 1

b. But unlike this book, the dictionary also discusses words that are far more pleasant to contemplate.

c. verb, to look at and ponder about what they mean

d. to look at and think about with much thought

e. The word contemplate helps to describe what the orphans will be doing. They will not only be anxious but have to contemplate and think about situations and what to do. This helps build up the plot in that it shows that a lot of activity is going to be going on with all of the thinking.

3. a. despair p. 3 par. 1

b. Instead, I’m sorry to say, you will find the words “grief, “despair,” and “woeful” as well as the phrases “dark passageway”.

c. verb or noun, anguish, misery, gloomy

d. to loose hope

e. The word despair helps to add to the whole atmosphere of the story. It describes how the mood of the story will be and what to expect from the book. Which is important when setting the context.

4. a. woeful p. 3 par. 1

b. Instead, I’m sorry to say, you will find the words “grief, “despair,” and “woeful” as well as the phrases “dark passageway”.

c. adj. Sad, unhappy, mornful

d. sad and unhappy

e. The word woeful just like the word despair helps to set the mood and atmosphere for the story. It gives you an idea of what type of mood to expect when reading the book.

5. a. suspense p. 3 par. 1

b. …but reading this book will make you feel anxious, because you will be troubled by the disturbing suspense in which the Baudelair orphans find themselves…

c. adj. Expecting something, apprehension

d. uncertainty and anticipating something

e. The word suspense helps to add to the context of the story. It lets you know that things will be happening unexpectedly and keep you waiting and wanting to read on to see what will happen.

6. a. treacherous p. 7 par. 1

b. …”everywhere they went, thinking up treacherous schemes and wearing disguises to try to fool the three children.”

c. adj. Mean, evil, dangerous,

d. untrustworthy, deceitful, unloyal

e. The word treacherous helps to add to the setting and gives you a sense for events that may happen to the orphans. It lets you know what to expect and that not pleasant events are going to occur at all times.

7. a. aqueous p. 26 par. 3

b. Aqueous martinis are in.

c. adj. Dealing with water

d. of, like, or pertaining to water

e. The word aqueous helps add to the character of Esme. It describes what is in and just how to the extreme she takes things.

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8. a. illuminated p. 33 par. 3

b. If the Baudelaires had looked around the room now that it was properly illuminated, they would have seen just how fancy all the furniture was.

c. verb, lighted

d. to light up, to brighten

e. The word illuminated is a great describing word that helps to give a vivid description of the setting

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SUMMARIZER

This section begins with the Baudelaire Orphans talking with Mr. Poe. Mr. Poe was in charge of finding the orphans a place to live after their parents died, and so far his places of choice have not worked out. However, he has found them a new place to stay with a new couple at 667 Dark Avenue. Mr. Poe took the children to that address so that they could go stay with their new caregivers, the Squalors. The Squalors lived in a penthouse on the top floor, which was quite a hike from the bottom floor. The Baudelaire’s were welcomed by a man named Jerome who is very friendly and inviting towards them. However, his wife, Esme’ Squalor is to caught up in what is in and what isn’t to pay the children any attention. Jerome took the children to places that were of interest to them, and paid them attention, where as they hardly ever even saw Esme’ Squalor. Esme’ however did buy them pinstripe suits, since they were the “in” thing. Although this is not what Jerome had wanted to get the children and not what the children had wanted, they thanked her politely. The Esme’ ordered the Jerome and the children to leave that night and that she had made them reservations at Café’ Salmonella. She was having them leave because she had a man “Gunther” coming over to talk about the upcoming auction that was going to take place with all of the “in” items. The section ended with the children trying on their new suits (which were way to big for them) and getting ready to go out to eat.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator

Section 2 p.59-138

CONNECTOR

Your job is to connect the book to the outside world. Write a paragraph, connecting one of the following passages from the book to your life or someone you know.

p. 59-60 “Because although this…element of surprise.”

p. 69 par. 5 “ That was very nice of you…minds at ease.”

p. 81 par. 3 “ The Baudelaire orphans…keep on trying.”

p. 91 par. 1 “ Morning is one…future will hold.”

I decided to connect the passage on p.60 par. 5. “That was very nice of you to stop arguing with Esme’” he said. “I could tell that you weren’t completely convinced you had made a mistake about Gunter. But don’t worry. There is something we can do to set your mind at ease.” I thought that everyone some point in his or her lives has been able to relate to this quote. I think that everyone has been in an argument or discussion where they stopped it or just ended it so that they wouldn’t cause a fuss. Sometimes you know that people you are talking to are not going to believe you or see things your way, so it’s better to just stop the discussion/argument while you can. For example, when you want to go out at night and your parents tell you no, however, you know there is nothing wrong with you going out, but you don’t continue to argue. You just listen to them instead of causing more problems and getting grounded.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator

Section 8 p.193-256

INVESTIGATOR

Pick one of the following websites (or find your own), and get some information about the relating to and pertaining to the book.









I went to and found an abundant of information relating to this book and the whole series. This website lets you click on which ever book you want to know about and you can then read an excerpt or listen to an excerpt from that particular book. It also gives a brief synoposis about that book. Along with this, the website allows you to read about the author, artist, play games, and more. For this book, The Ersatz Elevator, I read and listened to a passage and just explored the website and learn more about the series of books.

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