Klara and the Sun

Part 1

Reading Check

1. AF means Artificial Friend, a robot used to play with wealthy children who have few companions. (Part 1)

2. Emotions (Part 1)

3. Josie (Part 1)

4. She isn’t nice to a child who tries to interact with her. (Part 1)

5. Chrissy, Klara’s mother (Part 1)

Short Answer

1. Klara observes the sun seeming to give life back to the beggar and his dog, so she believes it must have healing powers. (Part 1)

2. Klara is surprisingly adept at reading human emotions, especially for an AI machine. She can differentiate emotions the other robots are not able to interpret. (Part 1)

Part 2

Reading Check

1. Behind Mr. McBain’s barn (Part 2)

2. Provide an opportunity for lifted children to interact with one another (Part 2)

3. There are health risks involved in participating in genetic mutation. (Part 2)

4. He was not lifted because his family is poor. (Part 2)

5. Sal died when Josie was younger. (Part 2)

Short Answer

1. Some of the children are cruel and don’t treat Rick well, possibly because he is less wealthy than they are. One child asks to throw Klara across the room. The children don’t know how to interact appropriately, perhaps because they have lacked childhood friendships and have been told they are better than “unlifted” children. (Part 2)

2. It indicates that parents either didn’t know or were willing to take the risk to ensure their children had the best opportunities and could take their place in wealthy society. (Part 2)

Part 3

Reading Check

1. Klara wonders why the sun hasn’t healed Josie and thinks she needs to get the sun’s attention. (Part 3)

2. To mend the fight Josie and Rick had (Part 3)

3. She wants to find a way to get the sun’s attention to help Josie. (Part 3)

4. She tells Klara she saw Chrissy struggling with a girl who looked like Sal after Sal’s death. (Part 3)

5. She offers to get rid of Cootings Machine in exchange for Josie’s life. (Part 3)

6. An ex-boyfriend who can help get Rick into Atlas Brookings (Part 3)

Short Answer

1. Although Helen does not have the monetary advantages Chrissy does, she is willing to go to great lengths to attain advantages for Rick by pulling strings with her ex-boyfriend in the school admissions department. Chrissy is willing to take the risk of having Josie lifted to make sure she has the same educational advantages as other wealthy children. (Part 3)

2. Rick and Josie genuinely care about each other, but their different economic statuses and the fact that Josie is lifted while Rick is not threaten to pull them apart as they grow older. Josie has the added pressure of fearing that she may die, which makes her feel isolated. (Part 3)

Part 4

Reading Check

1. It is a 3D model of Josie. (Part 4)

2. She thinks Mr. Capaldi has done an accurate job of capturing Josie’s outward appearance. (Part 4)

3. He says that the concept of an irreplaceable soul is sentimental. (Part 4)

4. She agrees to become Josie. (Part 4)

5. Sabotage the Cootings Machine (Part 4)

Short Answer

1. Helen probably regrets not having the genetic mutation procedure performed on Rick. Rick tells Vance he doesn’t want favoritism, but Helen assures Vance she does. Vance leaves because Helen has been rude to him in the past. (Part 4)

2. Chrissy is concerned because she believes that Josie has a soul. All are concerned because it did not work for Sal to become an AF. Paul does not reveal why he is concerned, but he does not like communicating with AF machines. Josie is concerned because she does not want to lose Klara. (Part 4)

Part 5

Reading Check

1. She asks if his love for Josie is true and lasting. (Part 5)

2. The bull and the new Cootings Machine (Part 5)

3. He tells her Josie said she was glad she was lifted. (Part 5)

4. Josie is feeling a lot better. (Part 5)

Short Answer

1. Klara believes the sun is a higher power with the ability to heal someone who is ill or even dead. However, she wrestles with doubts and the sun’s goodness, as indicated in her reflection on the bull and the return of the Cootings Machine. She addresses the sun in a kind of prayer and believes that if she pleases the sun (by destroying the Cootings Machine), the sun will answer her prayer. (Various parts)

2. Chrissy’s question to someone who is so much younger than herself is harsh and immature. Rick, rather than defending himself or lashing out, tells Chrissy that Josie does not regret her mother’s decision. Rick demonstrates a level of maturity by understanding that she is lashing out because she is in pain. The sacrifice of his own pride is a demonstration of his love for Josie. (Part 5)

Part 6

Reading Check

1. She continues to grow stronger. (Part 6)

2. She won’t tell him what deal she made with the sun. (Part 6)

3. Klara she based her deal with the sun on the love Josie and Rick feel for one another. (Part 6)

4. He wants to take Klara apart for scientific research. (Part 6)

5. She thinks Klara deserves her slow fade. (Part 6)

Short Answer

1. Klara is in the garbage yard at the conclusion of the novel. It seems a strange place for someone who is considered a family member, but Klara is ultimately a machine that has served its purpose, and fortunately she cannot experience loneliness. (Part 6)

2. Klara concludes that behaving like Josie may have reflected a part of who Josie is, but it would not have captured her heart and soul. (Various parts)