Art of Language: Bronze Bow Review HCW

—– QUESTION 1

“The Bronze Bow” ends with these words:

Haltingly, Daniel walked, not after Jesus, but across the road, till he stood before the boy (the Roman soldier). He had to try twice before the words would come. “My sister will get well,” he said, his voice harsh. “The fever has left her.”

A quick gutteral sound burst from the soldier. Daniel looked away. Who could believe that a Roman —?

“I think she would want to say good-bye to you,” he said.

The soldier waited, not understanding. Daniel looked down the road and caught the white flash of Jesus’ robe. Then he straightened his shoulders.

“Will you come in to our house?” he asked.

Pretend that YOU are the book’s author and write what happens next, as Daniel’s last question to the soldier hangs in the air. Make sure you’re true to the author’s character and places. You don’t have to finish the story (just like the actual book doesn’t really finish the story), just concentrate on what happens next. Write at least three paragraphs.

—– QUESTION 2

Read this paragraph again from Chapter 20:

Daniel sat beside Leah’s mat, bewildered. One by one they had all left him, everyone who had touched his life. Rosh. Samson. Joel. Thacia. Simon. Jesus. Now Leah was slipping away. With Leah’s death he would be altogether free. But freedom seemed suddenly a terror of emptiness, and he had nothing to fill it but hatred.

What does it mean to be “filled with hatred”? What are some other things that you can be filled with?

—– QUESTION 3

Which character in “The Bronze Bow” do you most admire? Why?

—– QUESTION 4

Our title for Chapters 22 through 24 is Daniel Loses Nearly Everything to Gain Everything. IN YOUR OPINION, what exactly is the EVERYTHING that Daniel gains?