Visual Response to The Nest

by
Ms Peach
Theme: Everyone Deserves a Second
Chance
 Themes
A theme in the short story, The Nest, by Robert Zacks, is
that everyone deserves a second chance. The character Paul
had been to reform school because of his past. Jimmys mother
did not want Jimmy to associate with Paul due to his past crime.
However, Jimmy liked Paul and defended him by saying, Hes
nice! cried Jimmy, pain in his voice. And he isnt a crook. He
made a mistake. He told me what happened. He was showing
off. And now nobody will be friends. Jimmy gave Paul a
second chance by going on the hike and inviting him to his house
for dinner.
Connections
 Connections
One year, a student of mine handed in a short story
assignment that she didnt write herself. When I
spoke to the student about it and talked about
plagiarism and the importance of doing her own
work, I offered her a second chance to write the
assignment. She still received a 0%, but was happy
to be given the chance to prove herself. After that,
she wanted to be trusted and not judged by her past
mistake. For the rest of the year she tried her best
and was grateful to prove that she wasnt defined by
one mistake.
Literary Elements: Setting
 Literary Elements: Setting
The setting of a story refers to the time and place
when the events occur. In The Nest, one of the settings
is when Paul and Jimmy went on their hike together.
It was May, and the leaves on the trees were
chartreuse and new. They went six miles out of town.
They watched chipmunks skitter. They lay on their
backs and stared at fleecy white clouds changing
shape. This setting is calm and peaceful, just as we
feel when we are given a second chance.
Judgement
 Judgement
This text is important for students our age because
we have all made judgements or judged someone
before getting to know them. At our age, people often
judge us by our clothes, our appearance or one action
instead of our whole character. Susan Boyle was
evaluated by the panel of judges by her appearance
before they heard her sing. Once she started to sing,
people realized that they were looking at her, and
looking at her potential, that they had judged her. In
the short story, Jimmys mom realized that she had
judged Paul by his actions.