Answer to # 1 of 5 big Q's

Q) 1. The novel's inciting incident forces Peter's family to make the decision that he should run away and hide from the "law" in the form of Sir Phillip. This seems to be an unusual choice for a protagonist of a novel. Why do you think the author made this choice? What message is the author trying to send? Is it better to hide from your troubles or to face them? Provide examples (from your life, other texts, current events or history) that support both sides of the argument and offer your opinion in a concluding paragraph. (expectation implied in the question is for 3 paragraphs)

A) "There once were three Buddhist monks. They were traveling on their way to a golden city when they came to a giant gate.The gate was unlocked though it was guarded by a single dog. The first monk volunteered to go. As he approached, the dog started growling and he ran. The monk though got caught and was eaten. The second monk who was also scared of the dog tried to walk by as if it did not exist.The dog let him get close, then gobbled him up. The third monk, now terrified decided to take a different approach, he rose up and ran down screaming at the dog. The poor dog was so frightened it ran off, never to be seen again, while the monk could say he no longer had his fear."
- ``Yoga journal``

This is an old Buddhist tale telling you to face your fears head on. The moral is that if you don't face your fears and leave them to grow in the end your fears will eat you up. The author of cue for treason however I think took another approach to this manner. Although, in the book cue for treason, some people think that he ultimately made peter (The protagonist) run from his fears, though lets look at the facts. How could this 14 year old peasant boy face up to the highest tyrant of their community for attempted murder?

Thus leaves the question of if the author made the right choice. Is he telling children to run from their fears or face them? Or has he paved a new path for this matter. Peter in the end turned out to defeat Sir Phillip (the tyrant) by leaving his home in Cumberland and coming back when in a more stable, powerful position (After he joined Queen Elizabeth`s secret service). The new path being to face your fears only when you are ready. As for my opinion, well played Geoffrey Trease (author), well played.
















go ahead, face it.