The Secret Path

  Don’t Let This Touch You  1. Why do you think the artist continues to show a close-up of Chanie’s eye?  I think it is because like a lot of people say they are the windows to the soul and it’s a form of showing his emotions and how they start looking over time and what he is seeing. 2. This song employs many metaphors. For example “Words are ghosts”. Read the lyrics to the song carefully (It’s in the Resources column of your Workspace!)  Choose and explain one of these metaphors.  I am going to explain the “Words are god” and I think it means that you aren’t able to see it but you believe them nevertheless  Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them   1. The raven says, “What you can’t escape you’ve got to embrace.” What do you think the raven is telling him?  I think that he should embrace that he can’t get home that he should just embrace that he is going to either die or get severely punished by the supposed teachers. 2. The raven is much bigger in t...

  Son 1. When we see Chanie’s father, he is in full colour. Why do you think the artist chose to do this?  I think that the reason they put Chanie’s father in full colour is that Chanie remembers his father in happy memories and so it is like how people think of themselves and others as bland and dull but with people you love and care about you think of them as colourful and bright. The Secret Path 1. Chanie’s fire has gone out. What is the significance of this?  The significance of Chanie’s fire being gone is kind of big because he can’t go back and embrace the warmth it brings but on the other hand, it would have gone out eventually either way. 2. Chanie has left his empty match bottle behind. What does this mean? How is he feeling? I think the meaning of him leaving it behind is to not have extra weight to hold him down because the weight of it excessively being there would start to feel heavier over time and I think he is feeling disappointed and or sad that the dream...

We see the image of Chanie’s teacher in the classroom. We have seen other adults in the school throughout the film. Why do you think the artist chose to never show the faces of the adults in the school? I think that the reason for them leaving out the faces is because they could be that they didn’t know what they looked like or that it was so traumatizing that they didn’t remember their faces but the actions that they did. For a recap of what has happened so far in the story ‘The Secret Path’.  The beginning: You see him walking on a railroad track and not in warm clothes while it was winter then you see it change to him getting his hair cut by a priest, powder, and shampoo in his hair, showering with other little boys, and then seeing him in a bed that they gave him.  The next chapter: You start by seeing him on a swing with two other boys swinging on the swings, they then see a girl trying to run away and the priest catching her. The little girl is crying and screaming while...

  1. Why is something like a jar of matches so important to Chanie?  What do matches represent or symbolize?  Something like the jar of matches is important because to Chanie it could mean walking in the dark and possibly getting ambushed by some hungry wolves and or bears because wolves tend to avoid fire, I also think that the matches represent that there can be some light in the darkness of it all. 2. What do you notice about Chanie in this song? How is he changing?  He is a little happier when he gets the matches from who is supposedly the other boys' mother and for the rest, he gets more anxious about how the amount of the matches is dwindling. 3. Chanie lights his final match. What do you think will happen? That he will continue walking because in the first illustration he was walking on the railroad tracks still without the matches I don’t think he stops to have those night breaks anymore because there isn’t anything to light to keep him safe from mother natur...

1. Do the content/lyrics match the tone of the song? Why would Gord Downie choose this tone for his song? The tone of the music was not matching at times and others it was because it is talking about him escaping but at the same time it was at the cost of the little girl. 2. We’ve seen the raven twice now. What do you think the significance of the raven is? What does it symbolize? The raven could symbolize that one of his guardians are watching over him and trying to make sure he is going to get back safely

  1. Why does Chanie see himself as a stranger?  I think Chanie sees himself as a stranger because they changed him in ways that he doesn't recognize himself. My example is if someone changed the way you look, talk, smell, and type of things you wear basically all of what makes you who you are, do you think that you would recognize yourself after all of that. 2. How is his school similar to jail?  His school is similar to jail because he couldn’t see his family and he could not wear what he wants and he was supervised like the police officers would look over the prisoners. 3. We see the juxtaposition of happy and sad memories near the end. Which do you think are more motivating for Chanie and why? I think that what motivates him is a mix of both because he could be thinking about how he was wishing to be there and how happy he was and how he can change that wish into action and that it can be like that once again.