Night Calls
Short Story by Lisa Fugard
Think about Marlene's relationship with her father and what it reveals about the story's theme. Review your reading notes. Besure to cite text evidence to explain your response.
Answers
Answer:
The short story "Night Calls" takes place on a small game preserve in South Africa. A 13-year-old girl named Marlene comes home from her boarding school for the holidays. Five years earlier, her mother died in a car accident. She feels estranged from her father. She doesn't know how to communicate with him or act in his presence.
When they pull into the compound where they live, Marlene notices that it has become run down and shabby. Her father has obviously been neglecting it. The only thing holding him to the preserve is a rare red-crested night heron that lives in a pen next to their house. Authorities asked Marlene's father to keep it safe in the hope that they might be able to find it a mate. However, after years of effort, it seems to be doubtful that they will. In the beginning, Marlene's father would excitedly share with her articles highlighting conservation efforts concerning the bird, but during this visit, the cage is neglected, and she and her father hardly communicate at...