Introduction-Chapter 11

Reading Check

1. Carousel (Chapter 1)

2. The Great Gatsby (Chapter 4)

3. Microcapsules (Chapter 6)

4. A swan (Chapter 8)

5. “Plastic” (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. He realizes that his novels have been about himself, in various ways, and that he now wants to try openly writing about himself instead of hiding behind the veil of fiction. (Introduction)

2. For years before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Green publicly speculated about the serious harm a global pandemic might do—and yet when the pandemic actually arrived, he found that he was as unprepared as everyone else. (Chapter 2)

3. He is moved by both the human act of creating art—especially in the distinct way of making a stencil of the hand—and by the human desire to conserve this art for future generations. (Chapter 5)

4. Because it is entirely made up of artificial ingredients, Diet Dr. Pepper feels like a vice in the way that the cigarettes he has given up used to feel. (Chapter 7)

5. Green is making a point about the capacity of human beings to impact the natural world in both positive and negative ways.