Podcast
Questions and Answers
How long has it been since Max went to school?
How long has it been since Max went to school?
Three years.
When did Max leave Syria?
When did Max leave Syria?
A month after the bomb.
It is now safe for Max to go to school.
It is now safe for Max to go to school.
False (B)
In what month does Max suggest Ahmed start as a new student?
In what month does Max suggest Ahmed start as a new student?
Max and Ahmed have a plan to forge an ID.
Max and Ahmed have a plan to forge an ID.
What does Max tell the police officer if they see him and Ahmed?
What does Max tell the police officer if they see him and Ahmed?
What does Ahmed want to see?
What does Ahmed want to see?
According to Max, what word was scrawled in giant graffiti letters on the side of the wall?
According to Max, what word was scrawled in giant graffiti letters on the side of the wall?
What is the location that Max shows Ahmed?
What is the location that Max shows Ahmed?
Madame pauline is at the house
Madame pauline is at the house
Flashcards
Beckoned
Beckoned
A feeling from the outside world.
Preposterous
Preposterous
Seemed highly improbable or unlikely.
Maghrib Prayer
Maghrib Prayer
The Islamic prayer performed at sunset.
Indulgent
Indulgent
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Touched
Touched
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Confusion
Confusion
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Bomb
Bomb
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Luxury
Luxury
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Forged ID
Forged ID
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Darkening
Darkening
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Smuggler
Smuggler
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Sidesaddle
Sidesaddle
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Coasting
Coasting
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Past
Past
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Wobbled
Wobbled
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Bump
Bump
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Minaret
Minaret
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Sneaking
Sneaking
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Venturing
Venturing
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Exhibit
Exhibit
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Surrealist
Surrealist
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Details
Details
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Stunned
Stunned
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Assumed
Assumed
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Urge
Urge
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Facade
Facade
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Pull it off
Pull it off
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Metal detector
Metal detector
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Whispered
Whispered
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Kept packed
Kept packed
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Study Notes
Chapter Twenty-Five
- Ahmed learns from Max and English newspapers about the heightened police and security presence in Europe, making the idea of going to Calais seem impossible.
- Ahmed maintains a daily routine in the cellar, practicing English, tending to orchids, eating small meals, and studying a picture of a man whose torso looks like a cage.
- Ahmed hides to look out the window when the house is empty.
- One Tuesday afternoon in December, Max returns with a puffy parka and striped hat.
- Madame Pauline is not home because of a metro strike that has also affected Max's parents.
- Max answers the phone, not telling his parents.
- Max assures Ahmed that going out with him will be safe because a white American boy would be less suspicious than Ahmed alone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
- Max and Ahmed discuss Ahmed's terrifying night with the smuggler.
- Ahmed points out the house whose gate he had run through three months prior.
- They stop in front of Ahmed's school; the doors are locked.
- Ahmed longs to go to school.
- Ahmed's face is relaxed and peaceful when he steps away from the window.
- Three months earlier, Max wouldn't have understood Ahmed's urge to go to school; during the lockdown he would rather play Minecraft, but now he understands.
The Plan
- The plan is for Max to say Ahmed is a friend from school if they are spotted.
- Ahmed is aware that he doesn't speak French.
- Max waves Ahmed onto the bike.
- They plan to forge an ID.
Touring Brussels
- They decide to visit the Magritte Museum, which Ahmed finds extravagant.
- On the way, they pass the European Commission and the European Council buildings.
- There are four military vehicles with soldiers in an island between the buildings.
- Ahmed notes the graffiti and feels as if he's back in Aleppo.
- Ahmed sees the English word "MAD" scrawled in graffiti.
- Max and Ahmed pass the Parc du Cinquantenaire.
- Ahmed spots the Great Mosque of Brussels.
The Magritte Musuem
- The Magritte Museum is located in a square classical building.
- At the entrance to the museum they walk though a metal detector.
- Ahmed notes that the machine didn't beep.
- Max explains that he has never been to the musuem before.
- They step into a room-sized elevator and go to the top floor, where Ahmed sees a panoramic view of Brussels through glass windows.
- The exhibit includes plaques in French, Dutch, and English about René Magritte's life.
- Magritte was from Hainaut, Belgium.
- Ahmed is struck by the word "drowned" when he reads about Magritte's mother's death.
- The exhibit has strange halls of mirrors like the dreams and nightmares, upside-down buildings, and empty picture frames.
- Magritte was a surrealist interested in reality and illusion.
- Ahmed feels that Magritte longed for his mother.
- Ahmed realizes that his picture is not there.
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Description
Ahmed learns about heightened security measures in Europe, making his journey to Calais more difficult. Max returns with winter clothing and a plan to take Ahmed out, assuring him it's safe. They revisit significant places from Ahmed's past.
