CHARACTER STUDY
An Open-Mind Portrait of Abilene Tucker
The Open-Mind Portrait presents an excellent mechanism for students to think more deeply about a character and analyze story events from a character’s perspective. Each student draws a portrait of a particular character. These portraits have two main parts: the character’s face as envisioned by the student/reader and several thinking pages. The thinking pages reveal the character’s mind (thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc.) at pivotal points in the story. This process promotes comprehension and encourages analytical skills. More information about Open-Mind Portraits can be found in the third edition of Gail E. Tompkins’ book 50 Literacy Strategies: Step by Step.
Tompkins, G. E. (2009). 50 literacy strategies: step by step (3rd ed.). Boston, MA : Allyn & Bacon/Pearson Education, Inc. (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-515816-6)
To the left is a portrait of the main character, Abilene Tucker. Caitlyn Johnson Hood, a very talented young artist, drew this portrait using a pencil and crayons.
The first thinking page refers to what's going on in Abilene's head at the beginning of the story. She arrives by train, which is a normal mode of transportation for her. She and her father, Gideon, have spent most of their time traveling about by train. A railroad car is the closet thing she has to a home. The train tracks also represent the journey she is about to take into the past as she simultaneously journeys into the unknowns of the future. Abilene does not realize at this point how intertwined the past and present are. The worn and torn sign welcoming newcomers to Manifest foreshadow this connection as it states "Manifest: A town with a past."
The compass is a gift from her father, and it ends up pointing her in the right direction, even though she does not realize it. While visiting the town's graveyard, Abilene loses her treasured compass. In order to recover it, Abilene must work for the woman who found it, the mysterious gypsy and fortune teller, Miss Sadie, who lives in a creepy house down the Path to Perdition. Miss Sadie's stories are the key to Abilene's journey into the past, especially after Abilene locates the old cigar box with the trinkets, map, and World War I letters from Ned to Jinx. Abilene also learns about the town's past from old newspaper articles, especially the column written by Hattie Mae.
Abilene encounters some interesting people, including Sister Redempta, and some new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne. Abilene, Lettie, and Ruthanne spend part of the summer formulating plans in the treehouse to identify and expose the alleged spy, the Rattler. Through it all, Abilene has question after question about many events and people. She has doubts about Gideon, her father. Has he abandoned her? Where does he fit into Manifest's history? Why are his stories about the town so vague and unlike what Abilene has experienced? She has questions about Shady and Ned and Jinx. She feels alone and confused at times. However, her sense of adventure and curiosity, as well as her generosity in friendship toward old and young alike, help Abilene overcome these feelings of isolation and doubt.
Tompkins, G. E. (2009). 50 literacy strategies: step by step (3rd ed.). Boston, MA : Allyn & Bacon/Pearson Education, Inc. (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-515816-6)
To the left is a portrait of the main character, Abilene Tucker. Caitlyn Johnson Hood, a very talented young artist, drew this portrait using a pencil and crayons.
The first thinking page refers to what's going on in Abilene's head at the beginning of the story. She arrives by train, which is a normal mode of transportation for her. She and her father, Gideon, have spent most of their time traveling about by train. A railroad car is the closet thing she has to a home. The train tracks also represent the journey she is about to take into the past as she simultaneously journeys into the unknowns of the future. Abilene does not realize at this point how intertwined the past and present are. The worn and torn sign welcoming newcomers to Manifest foreshadow this connection as it states "Manifest: A town with a past."
The compass is a gift from her father, and it ends up pointing her in the right direction, even though she does not realize it. While visiting the town's graveyard, Abilene loses her treasured compass. In order to recover it, Abilene must work for the woman who found it, the mysterious gypsy and fortune teller, Miss Sadie, who lives in a creepy house down the Path to Perdition. Miss Sadie's stories are the key to Abilene's journey into the past, especially after Abilene locates the old cigar box with the trinkets, map, and World War I letters from Ned to Jinx. Abilene also learns about the town's past from old newspaper articles, especially the column written by Hattie Mae.
Abilene encounters some interesting people, including Sister Redempta, and some new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne. Abilene, Lettie, and Ruthanne spend part of the summer formulating plans in the treehouse to identify and expose the alleged spy, the Rattler. Through it all, Abilene has question after question about many events and people. She has doubts about Gideon, her father. Has he abandoned her? Where does he fit into Manifest's history? Why are his stories about the town so vague and unlike what Abilene has experienced? She has questions about Shady and Ned and Jinx. She feels alone and confused at times. However, her sense of adventure and curiosity, as well as her generosity in friendship toward old and young alike, help Abilene overcome these feelings of isolation and doubt.