Mrs.+Frisby+and+the+rats+of+NIMH

__ Questions for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM __ __ By Lindsay Palmaffy and Hannah Davis __

Mrs. Frisby, her family, and others in the community face many dangers or conflicts. Some of the difficulties she faced were helping Timothy get better and the crow and the cat. The first difficulty she faced was her son, Timothy. The danger she was worried about was worried about facing the cat dragon. Also, she was afraid she will not make it back in time, or she would run into an angry animal. When she got to Mr. Ages and said “Oh Mr. Ages Timothy is terribly sick and I need your help”. Mr. Ages found out that Timothy has terrible sickness called ‘pheumonia”. Some difficulties she’s faced were when she came up to the fence and Jeremy the crow was caught in the fence with silver string. She faced those difficulties by saving the crows life by chewing through three rows of string, and saved her and himself before Dragon got to them. Mrs. Frisby shows positive traits kind hearted, worried, doesn’t give up and very nice
 * 1) Describe the many dangers/conflicts that Mrs. Frisby, her family, and others in her community face; Explain how she faces those difficulties; and name what positive traits she has shown so far in the novel?


 * 1) what does Jeremy the crow mean when he says, "We all help one another against the cat"? What message does the author seem to want to impart [give] to us about solving conflicts?

When Jeremy says, “We all help one another against the cat.” The authors message that the author is saying is that everyone tries to help each other if danger comes (the cat.) Also he is saying that is you need help, call for me and I will be there for you. Therefore, what Jermey says is I am here for you because you saved my life. Moving day is when they have to move out because Ms. Fitzgibbon plow comes through and this year it comes early. This is a dilemma because Timothy is sick and he cannot move because he has to get better. And they have to move out so they don’t get run over by the plow. This is the dilemma they have because of moving day.
 * 1) As soon as Timothy has begun to heal, another more serious problem arises that has to do with "Moving Day." What is "Moving Day"? Why does Moving Day pose a serious dilemma [hard puzzle with no easy answer] for Mrs. Frisby and Timothy?
 * 1) On page 32, what is it that Mrs. Frisby remembers her husband saying about problems and solutions? What is the meaning of what he says?

Mrs. Frisby remembers her husband saying “All doors are hard to unlock until you have the key.” The meaning of this is that she must find someone to give to her their wisdom. Also she means that once someone tells her a way she could handle the problem of moving day, she will be able to help her, and her family.

Thinking Question: "Mrs. Frisby has gotten help from Mr. Ages, and she has gotten an offer of help from Jeremy the crow on page 26. What do both events have in common as "solutions to problems"?

Both events have something in common. For example, Mr. Ages gave Mrs. Frisby medicine for Timothy. He gave her medicine because he had to help her son become better. Jermey the crow says he will do a favor for Mrs. Frisby because she saved his live. Jermey told Mrs. Frisby about the wise owl. Therefore, Mrs. Frisby has both Mr. Ages and Jermey help to try to help Timothy get better. Timothy helps in this way, because he flies Mrs. Frisby to the Owl and the owl tells her a way to help move her house.


 * 1) On the pages 39-52 there is a lot of major events. First, Mrs. Frisby asks Jermey for advice. She asked him “ True. Just the same, I am in doubt to you. If the time ever comes that I can help you. I hope you will ask me. My name is Jermey. Mention it to any crow you see in these woods and he will find me.” But he can not help her with that so Jermey flys to Mrs. Fribys to the owl. She was very afraid of hights but, she had to do it for Timothy. Lastly, Mrs. Frisby meets the, wise old owl. He is able to help. This is what happens on pages 39-52.
 * 2) + How on pages 63 and 64 Mrs. Frisby and her son Timothy switch parent-child roles. 2 to 3 sentences


 * 1) Mrs. Frisby and Timothy “switch parent- child roles.” They “switch” roles because Timothy said “I have to think about moving day,” He sounded serious, but calm and unworried. “Because if it comes too soon, I don’t know if I can go. I tried walking a little bit today, in here, when the others were outside.” “Timothy, you’re supposed to stay in bed! You’ll make yourself sick again." Timothy sounds like the mom trying to reassure her daughter saying


 * 1) + What Mrs. Frisby learns about the technology and architecture of the rats' sub-rosa world, and what we know and what we can infer about the rats' "plan."

Mrs. Frisby learns about the technology and architecture of the rats' sub-rosa world. She learns that the Rats call themselves the rats of Nimh because the Rats came from a place called Nimh, where Isabella said “We don’t want to go back. We don’t want to get caught.”
 * 1) Describes and explain the meaning of strange advice that Mrs. Frisby is given by the owl.

The strang advice that Mrs. Frisby is given from the owl is “Tell them, that I suggest moving the house into the lee of the stone. Remember that—the lee of the stone.” By “them” I mean the rats. It is strange because Mrs. Frisby is not sure what the “Lee” is. So it puzzles her. Later on she learns that the lee means “the sheltered side. A bird flying over Mr. Fitzgibbon’s garden, would notice something most of us would miss.” Said Nicodemus.

‍+What two important pieces of information does Mrs. Frisby learn in the chapter "A Powder for Dragon," one about what "in the lee of the stone" means, and another about how Jonathan Frisby had died.

There was two important pieces of information does Mrs. Frisby learned in the chapter "A Powder for Dragon." The first one was she found out what “In the lee of the stone” meant. It meant the sheltered side. In other words it means the area that Mr. Fitzgibbon would not plow. It means he will go around the rock, but not be able to get close enough to where their house would be. Secondly, she learned how her husband Jonathan died. He died last year, when he was trying to add the powder into Dragons food… for one of the rats plan. He died because Dragon caught him, and ate him and it was a dangerous mission for just one little mouse.

3 or 4 explain

‍+In the chapter "The Marketplace" and "In the Cage," summarize what Mrs. Frisby and we learn about exactly where the rats come from, what happened there, and how they started to become whom or what they are--intelligent rats.

The rats came from a Marketplace. They call them self’s the rats of NIMH because when they were captured, they were taken to a place called Nimh. So ever since then, they refer to them self’s as the Rats of Nimh. They were used as lab rats and were tested every day and also were given shots too every day.


 * 1) They are taught to read, because everyday someone would put them in a room, and have a recording say “Are” “Are” “Are” a dozen of times or so, that particular shape disappeared and another one came on the screen. The picture would help the rats understand the word, and make connections with each other. Their escape from NIMH shows intelligence and responsibility and civilization. It shows intelligence, responsibility and civilization because Jenner found the way out, and he also thought of which ways they should go, and hoe to unlock their cages.

Question/Writing: In the chapter � The Boniface Estate, � what are the signs that the rats have totally transformed into different creatures, that they now have a different identity? What are the clues (reactions) from other rats that the identity of the rats of NIMH has changed? What discontent, or worry, do the rats start to have about stealing? What is the greatest discovery that the rats make at the Boniface Estate? What does all of this mean about the rats � identity � about who they are?
 * 1) VIII. (8.) Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 142-148.

The rats have changed from before in many ways. First, they used to be small and thiefs but, now they are big and smart and scary rats. Second, they didn’t know how to read but, now they do. They learned from a voice in the library that either said the letter or word or even sound a dozen times. One day when 20 rats and 2 mice were walking along the side with some rats but, not for long because after they said just a couple of words they would begin to look at them strangely, and edge away. The worry the had was because they didn’t want to get caught stealing food, reading the books or living in the mansion. The greatest discovery I think they had from living in the mansion was the great big library with all of the books. I think this because they could read them and learn from them. This means like they are becoming rat people and every single one of them has a identy.

IX. (9.) Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 149-157 Question/Writing: In the chapter � The Main Hall, � what occurs that shows that the author wants to remind us of the theme/message of kindness? Later in this chapter he moves on to the theme of self-sufficiency. Define � self-sufficiency. � Look it up in the dictionary. Why do the rats want to be self-sufficient? What preparations, or invention, have they made to plan to be self-sufficient?

The rats want to be self-sufficient. They want to be self-sufficient because they are tired of stealing. Now they want to start living without stealing, like they used to do. So now they will start to grow, and harvest their own foods. The rats invented a plow. “Its light and sharp, especially made to be pulled by rats. It takes eight of us to pull it, more if the turf is tough. But with it we can turn over, in a day of hard work, a patch of earth about ten by fifteen feet.” said Justin.

‍X. (10.) Read Mrs. Frisby pages 158-164. ‍Answer the following questions in an extended response of at least eight sentences. Why do the rats admire the monks of the Middle Ages? In what way were the monks self-sufficient​? Why were/are the rats so hated? ed Based on the answers to these questions, what lesson about the building of a future civilization do the rats make? In other words, when the rats leave the Fitzgibbon Farm, how do the rats want to live and what kind of a community do they want to create?

The rats admire the monks because they knew how to do a lot of things that rats don’t know nowadays. The monks were self-suffcient because they grew their own foods and built their own houses and furniture. They even made their own tools and own paper. They also knew how to read and write. I think the rats are hated because they spread diseases. Also, they would often steal food and bite children.

XI. (11.) Read Frisby pages 165-186. ‍Answer the following thinking questions in a short essay of no fewer than 8 sentences, and no more than 20 sentences. In the vacuum story, it talks about how one woman bought a vacuum cleaner, and then how all the other woman in the village were jealous of how clean and tidy and neat her house was. They thought this because they used dust pan and the vacuum cleaner seemed more continent to them. But what they did not know was that the more vacuum cleaners needed to produce (The vacuum cleaner company even set up a little business in the town.) the more electricity was needed, to keep all of these ladies happy and there vacuums working. As this was going on, the factory would send out black smoke, day and night and making the floors dirtier than ever. This equaled more pollution than ever. Therefore the floors were dirtier than ever, so the woman of the town had to work twice as hard and twice as long, trying to keep the floors almost as clean as they had been before
 * 1) ‍What does the allegorical story [story with an intended message] of the vacuum cleaner business on pages 169-171 mean about the danger of taking the easy way out, of the danger of � stealing � ?
 * 1) Why does Jenner disagree with Nicodemus about whether they should move to Thorn Valley? Why does Nicodemus disagree with Jenner? Later on, in the next chapter, � Captured, � we learn why Jenner left. Why did he and his followers leave?

Jenner disagrees with Nicodemus about whether they should move to Thorn Valley because he knew Thorn Valley was too far from the barn and it would be too far to carry food and there wont be electricity and Nicodemus disagrees with Jenner accuse because Thorn Valley is a beautiful place and there civilization is based on stealing and starting a new civilization based on everyone supplying the stuff they need with no help is self-sufficient. ‍C. On page 179, what do we learn about Jonathan Frisby that shows his kindness towards his wife? What did he not tell Mrs. Frisby? Why did he not tell her this? We learned that he didnt tell his wife how the injections made him have a longer life-span. While he stayed young, his wife would just keep on getting older and older and fianlly die. It was distressing to him but he thought of how painful it would be for her. As you can see, Johnathan Frisby really showed kindness toward his wife by not telling her that he had the injections. ‍D. All of the above responses have to do with doing the right thing. According to the author, what does it mean to do the right thing? Refer to your answers above. What does the author want us to see about the connection between being civilized and � doing the right thing"?

Acorrding to the author, doing the right thing means if something seems wrong or if something is wrong your should change it. For example, when Johnathon Frisby did not tell his wife about the injections that is the right thing to do because then his wife would feel pain. The author wants us to see the connection between being civilized and doing the right thing is that when Nicodemus knew that having a new civilization where you can supply and make all the things you need by yourself was the right thing even though he had an argument with Jenner he still knew that it was the right thing. So, he stuck to it.

XII. (12). Read Frisby pages 187-194.

Answer the following fact and thinking questions:

A. What does Mrs. Frisby learn when she is captured, inside the birdcage?

Mrs. Frisby learns that people want to kill rats. She also learns that they know where the Rats of NIHM live and that the exterminator is going to exterminat

B. Why, ironically, is Mrs. Frisby's capture a good thing?

It is a good thing because she now knows that she can warn the others that exterminaters are coming if she can before saturday because they are coming on saturday.

C. Describe two other examples of "entrapment" [being trapped or caught] that, ironically, led to good things. Explain fully.

Two other examples of "entrapment"that, ironically, led to good things is that she also knows that the rats of NIHM have a hideout or where they live under the rosebush. So, Mrs. Fitzgibbon is going to tell the exterinater to look under the rosebush. Also, she learned that rats have rabies.

XIII. (13). Read Frisby pages 195-205

In the chapter, � Escape, � (especially on pages 196 and 197) Mrs. Frisby spends quite a bit of time thinking about the rats. Why does Mrs. Frisby want to escape and do? What does this say about her character? What does she say about the rats and their plan? What message does the author want to give us about goodness and bravery and intelligence and civilizations? Mrs. Frisby wants to escape to warn the rats that the exterminator is coming on Saturday and they know where all of the rats live. She likes the rats and thinks they are very smart and nice. Mrs. Frisby likes their plan.

15. During the last five pages of the chapter, we see the rats actually moving Mrs. Frisby � s house. What do they do? How do they do it? In what ways do they show specialization of labor? In what ways do they show intelligence? Resourcefulness? Cooperation? According to the author, what does it mean to be truly civilized

The author ends the novel with a final <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">� statement <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">� about intelligence, courage, and kindness. In your own view, what is the overall, general message that the author would like to leave us with about being civilized, especially as it relates to intelligence, courage, and responsibility? More specifically, in what way are all three ideas related to the idea of being civilized? All three, intelligence, courage, and kindness are related to the idea of being civilized. They relate to the idea of being civilized, because you must be intelligent, in order to create, or survive in a world of challenges. Secondly, they have to have courage. They must have this because; they must be able to do stuff, like putting sleeping potion in the cats food. They must have their courage, for them to accomplish their obstacles in their life. The rats show lots of kindness in their story. For example, they agreed to move Mrs. Frisby house into the “lee of the stone”, to save her son Timothy. XV. (15) First, in what way does the rats method of trying to fool their would-be executioners show intelligence? What do the rats do that is clever? LINDSAY First, the Rats method of trying to fool their would-be executioners shows intelligent. It shows intelligence, because they came up with the idea of pretending that they were uncivilized rats, and that they had a small community of rats. They pretended to eat garbage like every other normal, unintelligent rat. Also, they are clever. They are clever, because the rats thought of moving everyone to Thorn Valley, and leaving a group of 10-15 rats to stay their. The rats had to stay there, so that the exterminators would think "okay that's the whole lot of them, there are no more, and we killed some and the rest must have escaped." the rats were smart enough to think thy they would think this and though ahead of them selfs.

‍Secondly, what brave or heroic action does Mrs. Frisby witness? What past action of her own does it mirror, or in what way has she, too, been heroic? LINDSAY

Thirdly, on pages 230 and 231, how does Mrs. Frisby show kindness or consideration or responsibility when she speaks with her children? ME

Mrs. Frisby shows responsibility when she speaks to her children. I think Mrs. Frisby shows responsibility when she tells her kids everything she has done with the rats. She also tells them about there father.

‍Finally, re-read what you wrote. Then, think and write: What does the author of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH want us to know about being civilized? What does it mean to be civilized? What are the character traits of a civilized person? Why is being civilized hard? Is it easier to be uncivilized? ME

She wants us to know being civilized is when you can eat, read, think and talk like a human being. The rats show this in this book.