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Read Chapters 4-6; Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 4-6

Ask students what they think about when they see these symbols: American flag, peace sign, Nike swoosh logo, a skull with crossbones. In their minds, what do these symbols stand for? Note: You may write symbols for these words on chart paper or the board as a visual reference for your students.

will explain that sometimes ideas, objects, or characters in stories have a higher meaning beyond what they seem to be. Science fiction authors like to use symbols to stand for ideas and situations that could happen in the real world. I will think about the characters, ideas, or objects I have read about in Only You Can Save Mankind and what real life ideas these could stand for.

I will examine the war that Johnny sees on the TV. This is the Gulf War. I recall that Johnny sees people on the TV dressed in desert-like gear. They use blue and red arrows to point to areas of the desert. I recall that to Johnny, this looks like a computer or video game; he doesn’t fully understand that a war is actually happening in another country.

The Gulf War is a major part of the book, as it is mentioned or referred to continuously. I will think about what this war could symbolize. First, I will look at all the details of this war. In Chapter 2, I remember that Johnny said, “There was a film on the news showing some missiles streaking over some city. It was quite good.” This shows that Johnny doesn’t realize he is watching an actual war with real missiles in a real city. Next, Johnny mentions that someone was “going on” about missiles and some types of missiles that were supposed to knock down the first type of missile. Johnny acts as though this is a normal, everyday thing. In Chapter 3, I recall that Johnny, Yo-Less, and Wobbler were discussing the war they saw on the TV. Bigmac said, “Way to go! We’re really kicking some butt!” Then Wobbler mentioned that, “it’s not like real fighting, it’s just TV fighting.” Wobbler also said Bigmac should write to Stormin’ Norman (who was Norman Schwarzkopf, a general in the Gulf War) to keep the war going until Bigmac is old enough to fight. It is clear that Bigmac thinks winning is important because he says he wants to be in the army to fight. This conversation shows me that the boys think fighting and war is normal, and even cool. They don’t understand that there are human death tolls and consequences to a war.

After thinking about these details, I will think about what the author is trying to say by including the Gulf War and the reactions to the war in the book. I think the author is trying to tell the reader that the War has become a part of normal life and accepted as a media experience. Therefore, the war is a symbol for the normalcy of violence in our culture.

Ask: "How can I figure out if a character, object, or idea symbolizes something greater?" Students should answer that they can write down details about the character, object, or idea and then think about the higher meaning that the character, object or idea could symbolize and what the author is trying to tell the reader by including this symbol.

will examine what the Toy Aliens in the cereal box could symbolize. We will write down characteristics of the aliens, which are first mentioned in Chapter 3. (They are little toys found in a cereal box; Johnny got one that was orange and had three eyes and four arms and was holding a ray gun in each hand; Johnny called them “cereal killers.”) We also see that Johnny has decided that aliens either eat you or play music and that they want to hurt humans.

In Chapter 6, we see that The Captain got one of these aliens in her mouth as she was eating the cereal Johnny had given the ScreeWees. She called it an “offending object.” From the ScreeWee’s point of view, these toy aliens had invaded human food or they were religious objects. Her point of view is seriously different from Johnny’s.

Ask: "By thinking about all these details, what do you think the author is trying to say by including the toy aliens? Using these details and the author’s message, what do the toy aliens symbolize?" (Answers might include stereotyping, or how one thing can be viewed in different ways.)

will think about what Johnny could symbolize. You will write down details about Johnny on your Symbols Brainstorm page in your Student Packet. (See page 12 in the Student Packet.) Then you will think about why the author chose these characteristics for Johnny. What is the author trying to tell the reader through Johnny? What could Johnny symbolize?