56 pages • 1 hour read
Geoffrey CanadaFist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1995A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
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In the final chapter of Fist, Stick, Gun, Knife, we find that Canada is suddenly in college in Maine: information that comes as a surprise to us. Why do you think that the author chose to withhold all information on how he chose and applied to this college?
Canada states frequently in the book that Mike was an important figure to him when he was growing up. Why do you think this was so? What do you think he learned from Mike that he could not have learned from the other adults in his life?
In Chapter 9 of the book, Canada takes part in protecting Kevin, a member of his group, from a violent, armed man. He is frightened, but also states, “I [had] given up the option of running. This freed me to act.” What do you think he means by this?
In Chapter 8 of the book, Canada discovers a knife in the gutter. He attempts to master drawing a switchblade, with imperfect results. What do you think he learns from this episode, about himself and his relationship to violence?
At the end of the first chapter, Canada states, “I needed some clues on how to build a theory of how to act.” What has confused and rattled him enough to say this? Do you think that he ever does find these “clues” that he is talking about?
In Chapter 4 of the book, the minor character of Butchie–described by Canada as a “gentle giant”–is given a terrible beating by the other boys in Canada’s neighborhood. Why is he is beaten, and what do you think that Canada learns from watching this episode?
In the early chapters of the book, Canada carefully describes the “pecking order” that exists in his neighborhood group of boys. Why do you think that this pecking order is so important for these boys? What do you think are its limitations?
Canada learns how to be a better street fighter over the course of the book, and learns some quieter codes of behavior as well. What are some of these codes, and how are they important to Canada’s survival?
In the final chapter of the book, Canada purchases a gun for himself, then eventually ends up throwing it away. He both buys the gun and throws it away in Maine, far away from his own dangerous neighborhood. What role do you think that the remote Maine setting has in both of his decisions: to buy the gun and then to get rid of it?
The world that Canada describes in his book is mostly a world of boys and men. Women–other than Canada’s mother, and the girl with the rifle in Chapter 7–are mostly absent from the story. How do you understand their role, limited though it is?
