posted
I got a student hooked on OSC's books ( ), and she just finished Speaker and came to me with a question. Since my books are in storage and I don't remember the details in question, I told her I didn't know, but y'all would.
(Any inaccuracies are likely due to my faulty memory.)
She said that Marcao was born in 1929 and died 1970 -- that should make him 40 or 41, right? But it said Novinha was not yet 40, and that she was older than Marcao.
posted
Ooh...I should know this...and I think I did at one point, but I probably forgot. Just bumping this up since it's a worthy question and I'm sure at least someone here knows.
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quote:"Some of you remember an incident," said the Speaker. "Marcos was maybe thirteen, and so were you."
quote:"She's thirteen, isn't she?" Pipo to Dona Crista, after Libo described the incident.
Off the top of my head these are the only two places I remember seeing any mentioning of Novinha or Marcos' age.
Your student may be right though. Kids are good at picking up details like that (pesky kids). Why don't you ask her which chapter she got that information from?
[ March 10, 2005, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: Beren One Hand ]
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"And where she looked was into the eyes of the only other person in the room who was not watching Libo. The man was very tall, but very young - younger than she was, she realized, for she knew him: he had been a student in the class below her."
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Ok, so that's where it says Marçao was younger than she. Maybe she was just mistaken? Maybe even though he was behind her a grade he was actually a year or so older? It happens sometimes . . . Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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When Libo told Pipo about the incident, Libo was thirteen as well.
quote:"If there's any man in Milagre who's caoable of accepting his thirteen-year-old son as a colleague, it's you" Dona Crista to Pipo. Chapter 1
quote:"Now, without anyone asking his consent, a third person had been addeda cold and demanding person, who spoke to him as if he were a child, even though they were the same age." Libo's initial feelings about Novinha. Chapter 1
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As intelligent as she was, perhaps they skipped her through grade(s) so that even though she was in a higher grade, she was younger? Another possibility, I suppose.
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posted
So . . . Marçao actually was a year or two older than Libo and Novinha, both of whom were the same age? But was a year behind them (or at least her) in school, for whatever reason.
I don't remember the details of his disease, but might it have caused mental challenges when he was young? (I'm thinking it was asymptomatic that early, but can't really recall.)
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posted
I don't think he was mentally challenged. I like Arevoj's spin. Libo and Novinha held the two most important scientific posts in the colony. The fact that they skipped one or two grades is not surprising.
Besides, from Novinha's perspective, everyone around her age is younger than her.
[ March 10, 2005, 09:38 PM: Message edited by: Beren One Hand ]
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It's a less formal form of the name, I think, like Mike for Michael. His full first name is Marcos.
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posted
Marçao is incorrect. He was called Marcão, which comes from Marco, which means Mark. (Miguel is Michael.) Marcão is the augmented form of Marco, and means Big Mark. It is less formal than simple Marco.
edit: It's fun knowing Portugese when reading Card's books.
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I confess, I find Portuguese bewildering -- especially written Portuguese, where the little Spanish I know makes things more confusing, rather than less.
However, I did read the author's note, which told how to pronounce the names, and thus was able to correct the student in question, who didn't know how to say Novinha.
(I didn't have a chance to speak to her today, but I teach her class on Monday.)
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![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
), and she just finished Speaker and came to me with a question. Since my books are in storage and I don't remember the details in question, I told her I didn't know, but y'all would. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
But my student said that the book says something about Novinha defending Marcao -- who was YOUNGER than she was -- when they were in school. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Hat]](graemlins/hat.gif)
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![[Wink]](wink.gif)
