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Transcript

The Mysterious Benedict Society

My Opinion and Rate

Initiating Incident

Theme

A man named Ledroptha Curtain, working out of a nearby school called the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (L.I.V.E), is transmitting strange, subliminal messages through the airways. He uses children's voices for his cryptic messages. Already, important government officials have gone missing as a result of Curtain's endeavors. Benedict needs the children to pose as institute students and discover Curtain's plans. The children are all orphans or runaways, so no one forbids them to accept the mission.

By: Juliana Vasylevsky 9A

The children who have very different personalities, learn to work together to accomplish a mission that seems impossible. They discover how to the cover the holes in each others knowledge and attitude. For example, the characters help each other to understand new concepts.

Pg. 99

With their teamwork, they became an unbeatable group that succeeded in their mission.

Exposition

Eleven year old Reynie Muldoon feels out of place at the Stonetown Orphanage. Only his tutor, Miss Perumal, provides any sort of friendship or intellectual stimulation. When she spies and ad in the paper offering gifted children "special opportunities, " she convinces Reynie to apply. Reynie and only three other children pass the series of sneaky and difficult tests. When Reynie speaks with the other kids, he discovers they were all offered test answers but all refused to cheat. He also learns they each used different skills and methods to accomplish the same tasks. The children meet Mr. Benedict, the man responsible for the testing. He praises them for their talents and their love of truth, and he asks them to help him on an important spy mission

Supporting Characters

  • S.Q. Pedalian
  • Jackson and Jillson
  • Martina Crowe
  • Miss Perumal
  • Mr. Rutger
  • Helpers
  • Recruiters

Climax

Rising Action

Main Characters

The Mysterious Benedict Society learn that Curtain is bout to intensify his messages. Soon, no one on earth will be able to resist his mind control. They taint the cafeteria food so most of the staff and students get food poisoning. Curtain is forced to call upon his only two healthy Messengers, Reynie and Sticky, to finish his project. As the boys attempt to foil Curtain's plans from within his control room, Constance and Kate battle staff members and try to infiltrate the tower that houses The Whisperer. Benedict and his team come to the island to rescue the children.

Live is located on an island. Benedict and his small team of adults devise a method for watching the children with telescopes and communicating with them from the mainland using flashlights and Morse code. The children poke around the grounds and work their way up in the student ranks to learn more about Curtain's schemes. When Reynie and Sticky earn the rank of Messenger, they become to some of Curtain's secrets. He shows them the machine he's created called The Whisperer. Messengers sit in the Whisperer chair, hooked up to wires. There, they record the mysterious phrases Curtain sends through TV and radio frequencies. Sitting in the Whisperer makes people forget their greatest fears. It's so comforting that Reynie and Sticky must fight not to give in to its calming powers. Curtain believes he can become a great world leader in two steps. First, he will subliminally cause everyone to fear the "emergencies" all around them. Then he will use the Whisperer technology to allay their fears and give them the perception of peace. He imagines that the world will love and call on him to solve all of their woes. He intends to "brainsweep"(erase the memories) of anyonre who fails to embrace his efforts.

  • Reynard Muldoon
  • George Washington
  • Kate Wetherall
  • Constance Contraire
  • Mr. Nicholas Benedict
  • Number Two
  • Rhonda Kazembe
  • Milligan
  • Ledroptha Curtain

Summary

  • An Ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. Reynie is taking the tests because of his Tutor, Miss Perumal, who saw in the local paper that read, "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" Just so happens that when Reynie answers these questions, the answers are yes and yes.The tests are weird and appear to go far beyond typical multiple-choice exams, testing not just for standard intelligence but for specific character traits as well: honesty, kindness, desire to help others, and, curiously, a dislike of radio and television in general. As a result, only four children pass the tests: Reynie, George Washington, Kate Wetherall, and Constance Contraire. The four children, who all happen to be alone in the world, are escorted to the residence of one Mr. Benedict, where they get to know Mr. B himself and three other adults quite well: Number Two, Rhonda Kazembe, and Milligan. The kids learn that the world is in danger from a crazy genius (Ledroptha Curtain) who has been controlling people all over the world with his subliminal messages. No one really understands his ultimate aim, but they can tell that something big and bad is coming and that there's not much time. The kids agree to go undercover at The learning Institute for the very Enlightened ( for exceptional children) so they can attempt to uncover and foil Mr. Curtain's insidious plan. Navigating their way through numerous mysteries and clues, the members of the Mysterious Benedict Society (as they have named themselves) do manage to figure out what Ledroptha Curtain is up to and stop him.

Falling Action

Resolution

Benedict convinces The Whisperer he is Curtain. He then disables the machine.

About the book

In the days that follow, the government shuts down LIVE. Benedict decides to adopt Constance, and Miss Perumal aadopts Reynie. One of the Benedict's team members, whom Curtain brainswept long ago, turns out to be Milligan, who gets his memory back. Sticky, a runaway, reunites with his parents.

  • Published in 2007
  • Target audience: Younger side ( 10 - 15/16)
  • 485 pages
  • 31 chapters
  • First book of 5 series
  • Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure and Mystery

About the author

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

  • Lives in Little Rock, AR
  • Born May 27, 1970
  • Interest in third grade
  • 1992 bachelors Degree in English from Hendrix College
  • University of Iowa Writer's workshop
  • Received MFA in 1995
  • Started writing full time

Book 5

Trenton Lee Stewart

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