62 pages 2 hours read

Buzz Williams

Spare Parts

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2004

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PROLOGUE

Reading Check

1. What year does Williams’s brother, Lenny, leave for the Marine Corps?

2. Which two members of Williams’s family passed away within two years of each other?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Williams join the Marine Corps, as described in the Prologue?

Paired Resource

Serving in the Marine Corps

  • In this video from Today’s Military, service members share their reasons for serving in the Marine Corps.
  • This information connects to the theme of Education.
  • What are some of the reasons Marines choose to enlist? How do they compare to and contrast with Williams?

CHAPTERS 1-2

Reading Check

1. On what island does Williams receive his military training?

2. What is the name of Williams’s drill instructor?

3. What is the name of the platoon guide that becomes Williams’s nemesis?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What are some ways that Williams’s drill instructor “digs” into new recruits, and why?

2. Why are Marine Reservists referred to as “spare parts,” according to Charlie?