CATCH US IF YOU CAN

Choose a character that you admire from a novel that you have learned in Form 5. With close reference to the text, give reasons to support your answer.

I choose the novel Catch Us If You Can, written by Catherine MacPhail. The character that I admire is Rory. There are many reasons why I admire him very much.

First of all, I admire Rory because he is loving and caring. He loves his Granda very much and takes a very good care of him. Granda has taken care of Rory since he was very young. Now that Granda is getting old and having his share of illness and memory lapses, it is Rory's turn to take on the role of a care-giver to him. Rory looks after Granda, makes his meals, runs the household, reminds him to take his pills, listen to his stories and so on.

Apart from that, I admire Rory because he is a determined person. When he faces the threat of becoming separated from his Granda, Rory makes the decision to run away with Granda. He thinks that they are a team and should always be together. On their journey, they meet strangers who help them. Rory gets to handle many situations and people of all sorts, and he learns a lot about life and people. Even though things are not easy for them, he is determined not to give themselves up.

Last but not least, I admire Rory because he is organized. This can be seen as he plans out his running away with Granda. He spends three days putting together his plan and organizing everything that he has to do. Then he goes over and over his plan in his head, every step of the way to make sure nothing would go wrong.

In a nutshell, I admire Rory because he is loving, caring, determined and organized. I really think that someone like him deserves a great life.

Using details from the novel you have studied, write on the theme of happiness. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

In the novel „Catch Us If You Can‟, Rory McIntosh has been living with his grandfather since he was a young boy. On the surface, this arrangement such as theirs cannot be a happy one because Granda is old and sick while he is too young to be able to look after himself, let alone his forgetful and sometimes disorientated grandfather. Granda would have been better off at Rachnadar, a home for the aged where his needs will be taken care of by professionals and Rory would have been able to lead a more normal life at Castle Street Children‟s Home. But they refuse to be separated. Despite the difficulties, they are happy together. In their own obstinate way, they are guarding their right to be together and be happy.

However, when Granda causes a fire in their flat, the social worker assigned to them takes Granda to Rachnadar while Rory goes to the Castle Street home. Rory is upset and so is Granda. Rory believes the home is killing his Granda. Then, Rory decides to run away from the home, „rescue‟ his Granda from Rachnadar and they would run away from all these meddling people. They are on the run for several weeks and the television is full of news about them. A massive search is launched for them. Ironically, while on the run, they experience some of the happiest moments of their lives, with the help of sympathizers like Darren, his best friend who steals his mother‟s caravan key to let them hide temporarily, Sammy and Ruby who shelter them when the police close in on them. Then, there are the sympathetic petrol station operator, Rab and his girlfriend, Annie. Their run comes to an end when Granda becomes ill and causes concern to Norma, Annie‟s cousin who is helping them to get to Liverpool to find Rory‟s father. She calls the police. All‟s well that ends well when McIntosh‟s long-lost son, Jeff, who is also Rory‟s father comes for them. He is ready to assume his responsibility as a son and father.

Rory and Granda are basically searching for happiness whether as a stubborn pair fiercely defending their rights to stay together in the flat in the face of insurmountable problems or whether as runaways, oblivious to the frenzy they are causing through their actions. They sincerely believe that they are looking for happiness. After all, nothing matters as long as they are happy because life is a quest for happiness.

From the novel you have studied, write about an important moral value you have learnt. Support your answer with close reference to the text.

From the novel „Catch Us If You Can‟ by Catherine MacPhail, an important moral value I have learnt is that family relationships should be nurtured and not taken for granted. Granda looked after Rory after Rory‟s father walked out on them. Since Granda was old and forgetful, Rory took it upon himself to look after Granda. Nobody forced or told him to do it but Rory felt it was the right thing to do. He was willing to forego things that teenage boys should be doing. He did all the household chores, made sure Granda took his medication and had his meals. He even kept Granda‟s pipe to make sure there wasn‟t any untoward incidents. Granda and Rory did not take their relationship for granted. Granda, on several occasions, had expressed appreciation to Rory for always being there for him while Rory felt proud to have Granda as his grandfather. Rory was protective and defensive of Granda. They nurtured their relationship right up to the end even when they had a family, Jeff and Karen.

Sammy, Ruby and Tyrone also showed a strong family relationship. Sammy and Ruby were free and easy but respectful with each other. Ruby would tease Sammy and vice versa. But, when it came to making decisions, Ruby left it to Sammy, showing him respect as the head of the family. Tyrone was respectful and obedient to his parents, Sammy and Ruby.

All in all, I have learnt from the novel that family relationship should be nurtured and not taken for granted as family happiness and stability depend on this positive attitude.

Based on the novel you have studied; write about the part of the story that you like most/ a memorable event.

In the novel “Catch Us If You Can” by Cathrine MacPhail, the part that I like most is the great escape.

           Rory plans the Great Escape for three days after Darren suggests  hiding in his mother’s caravan. He gives Rory the spare key to the caravan. Rory carefully carries out his plan. He packs his and Granda’s things. He visits Granda after school, as usual. He wedges open the emergency exit. Later that night, he visits Granda and prepares Granda by dressing him up and then tells him that he is getting out of the home. Rory takes  Granda away from there while Val is having coffee with  the nurses. Both of them successfully sneak out through the emergency exit and out to a quiet train station where they are not noticed. They arrive at the train final stop and go uphill in a fine drizzle and then up a long winding path that leads to the caravan site.

      I like this part the most because it shows that Rory is a loving boy. He loves his Granda so much that he could not stand looking at his granda crying and feeling sad staying at Rachnadar. Because of this, he is determined to take Granda out from Rachnadar.

       This part of the story also shows us how determined Rory is in making his escape a success. He cannot live without his Granda  who has brought him up and taken care of him since he was a baby, and  because of that he takes the risk  to  take his Granda out  from Rachnadar. I also think that this is the start of  all the adventures and challenges of Rory’s and granda’s  lives.They meet with a lot of people and are always on the run so that they are not caught. It makes the story interesting  and leads to the happy ending when Rory is reunited with his father.

*For phrases which are underlined, you may change them according to your question.*