Step by wicked step Chapter 7: Robbo's story Dumpa's the problem

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STEP BY WICKED STEP
CHAPTER 7
ROBBO’S STORY-
DUMPA’S THE PROBLEM

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Synopsis
Robbo's parents split up when he was only six years
old. Robbo's father then moved out from their house
and Robbo and his sister, Callie visited him at his place
regularly. Robbo’s stepfather, Roy moved to their home
but Callie disliked him. She also nicknamed him as
'The Beard' as Roy seemed to interfere with their family
affairs. Their mother then give a birth to Dumpa,
Robbo's half brother. One day, when Roy and their
mother had a row, Callie tried to get their parents back
together but failed.

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Synopsis
One day, Robbo's mother had a serious row with Roy over
Callie's habit of pushing her bicycle through the narrow space
between his car and the bushes beside it as it almost scratched
Roy's car. They started shouting each other. Roy was angry as
he felt his wife siding with Callie and that neither of them
appreciated his effort in sending the kids to school or paying
for food. Robbo's mother and Roy's efforts to solve the
problem but they ended up arguing. the situation worsen when
Roy decided no to drive Callie to school and sledging activities
when snow started to fall. He even refused to buy her favourite
brand of cereals as she was not polite and civil to him.

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Synopsis
The next day, Roy decide to clear the shed during the middle
of a heavy snowfall with Dumpa following him. Robbo's mother
tried to get Dumpa in, but he refused and only listened to Roy.
Robbo then succeed in coaxing Dumpa into the house by
offering him strawberry rocket ice lolly. From that day onward,
their mother was always stuck in the middle as both Callie and
Roy were unhappy and upset with each other. She also realised
that the only solution to the problem is for her to move out her
father's place. Robbo's father then suggested to his ex-wife to go
on a holiday with Roy to help them solving the problem. He
even offering to take care of Dumpa while there were away.

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Synopsis
The story ended with Robbo's optimistic view of his family as
they can now start afresh. Ralph compared Robbo's story to Richard
Harwick's story because his sister, Callie and Richard both did not
like their stepfathers and had to leave their family. However, unlike
Richard who ran away from his family, Callie tried something
different in order to make things work at home. Ralph also
mentioned that everyone in their group had tried their best to solve
their problems at home. Claudia then put the journal back into its
place, but took out Charlotte's little wooden cow, removed a tiny
splinter, and gave the little wooden cow to Ralph who thrust it into
Collin's bag, hoping that Colin would find his stepfather again.

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Themes
1) Life in a stepfamily
- life in a stepfamily can be either happy or sad.
- if one cannot adjust to a stepfamily life, there are
bound to be conflicts.
- Robbo talks about how his sister had problems
with their stepfather although they loved their
stepbrother, Dumpa very much.

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Themes
2) Family love
- Robbo’s family portray family love
- Robbo’s mother loves both her daughter, Callie
and her husband.
- when they fight, she is caught in between.
- she is put in a difficult position.

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Themes
3) Solving one’s problems
- in life, one must solve one’s problems instead of
running away from them.
- Callie, Robbo’s sister also takes the trouble to
solve her problem with her stepfather.
- she always argues with her stepfather and can
never truly accept him
- she does not want her mother’s marriage to break up so
she chooses to move in with her father as a way to
solve her problem and to make life easier for her
mother.

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Plot
1) Exposition
- Robbo’s parents have split up long ago
2) Rising Action
- His sister Callie hates Roy, their stepfather. Frequent quarrels are seen in
the house.
3) Climax
- Roy is very adamant and refuses to speak or do things for the step children
as before
4) Falling Action
- Callie decides to move to Dad’s place.
5) Resolution
- Mum helps to set up Dad’s home so that it would be comfortable for Callie.

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Characters
1) Robbo
-patient
-helpful
-responsible
-determined

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Characters
2) Callie
-Robbo’s sister
-adamant
-observant
-hot-tempered

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Characters
3) Dad
-Robbo’s father
- concerned
- fatherly

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Characters
4) Mum
-motherly
- strong willed
- concerned

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Characters
5) Roy
-Robbo’s stepfather
-loves picking on Callie
-gets angry very quickly
-bully

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Characters
6) Dumpa
-Robbo’s half-brother
-three years old
-mischievous
-loves his dad very much

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Moral values
1) Do not give up easily when we are faced with
problems.
2) We must try to accept things the way they are and
make the best out of it.