Read the poem which follows and select the emotions and imagery of an outsider's perspective of death that also appear in The Sweet Hereafter.
"There's been a Death, in the Opposite House" by Emily Dickinson

There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,
As lately as Today —
I know it, by the numb look
Such Houses have — always —

The Neighbors rustle in and out —
The Doctor — drives away —
A Window opens like a Pod —
Abrupt — mechanically —

Somebody flings a Mattress out —
The Children hurry by —
They wonder if it died — on that —
I used to — when a Boy —

The Minister — goes stiffly in —
As if the House were His —
And He owned all the Mourners — now —
And little Boys — besides —

And then the Milliner — and the Man
Of the Appalling Trade —
To take the measure of the House —
There'll be that Dark Parade —

Of Tassels — and of Coaches — soon —
It's easy as a Sign —
The Intuition of the News —
In just a Country Town —

Read the poem which follows and select the emotions and imagery of a parent's perspective on a child's death that also appear in The Sweet Hereafter.
"Luna Rayne" by Susan Michalski

I hold this tiny thought
  in my fist
if my moon girl
  could
  she'd dance
through the storm puddles
  left behind
  in my next dream
and sing like rain
  on canvas
  for one brilliant moment
as I recall

Read the poem which follows and select the symbols and imagery of death that also appear in The Sweet Hereafter.
"Absence" by Amy Lowell

My cup is empty to-night,
Cold and dry are its sides,
Chilled by the wind from the open window.
Empty and void, it sparkles white in the moonlight.
The room is filled with the strange scent
Of wisteria blossoms.
They sway in the moon's radiance
And tap against the wall.
But the cup of my heart is still,
And cold, and empty.
When you come, it brims
Red and trembling with blood,
Heart's blood for your drinking;
To fill your mouth with love
And the bitter-sweet taste of a soul.

Read the poem which follows and select the emotions and imagery of an outsider's perspective of death that also appear in The Sweet Hereafter.
"Every Death Is Magic from the Enemy to Be Avenged" by Brooks Haxton

When fever burned the last light out of my daughter's eyes,
I swore to find and kill the ones to blame. Men
must mount the long boat in the dark with spears.
At dawn, where the flowering spicebush hid my scent,
I crouched. A young wife, newborn slung across her chest,
came first for spring water. She stooped. My god,
for vengeance, spoke her secret name inside my ear. Her god
stepped back with no scream, his right hand at his mouth,
the knuckles clenched between the pointed teeth.

Which lines from The Sweet Hereafter do the following lines (see stanza 5 in bold typeface) from the Emily Dickinson poem relate most closely to?
"There's been a Death, in the Opposite House" by Emily Dickinson

There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,
As lately as Today —
I know it, by the numb look
Such Houses have — always —

The Neighbors rustle in and out —
The Doctor — drives away —
A Window opens like a Pod —
Abrupt — mechanically —

Somebody flings a Mattress out —
The Children hurry by —
They wonder if it died — on that —
I used to — when a Boy —

The Minister — goes stiffly in —
As if the House were His —
And He owned all the Mourners — now —
And little Boys — besides —

And then the Milliner — and the Man
Of the Appalling Trade —
To take the measure of the House —
There'll be that Dark Parade —

Of Tassels — and of Coaches — soon —
It's easy as a Sign —
The Intuition of the News —
In just a Country Town —

The following quote spoken by Nichole is meant by the author to describe which other family in the story?
"We were becoming a strange family, divided between parents and children, and even among the children we were divided ... No one in the family trusted anyone else in the family"

Which relationship in The Sweet Hereafter do the following lines from the poem "Absence" by Amy Lowell best relate to?

"But the cup of my heart is still,
And cold, and empty.
When you come, it brims
Red and trembling with blood,
Heart's blood for your drinking;"