Short Story unit
Literature Circles
Directions: You will be assigned a role within each literature circle. Literature circles are comprised of three to five members. Below is an overview of the roles in the literature circles.
Song Interpreter: Your role is to choose five songs that relate to your short story. You are essentially creating a playlist to go with your short story. Please print off the lyrics or write them out. In addition, you need to write a paragraph explaining the significance of your choices in relation to the short story.
Illustrator: Your role is to summarize any excerpt from the short story through a collage or a comic strip. If you decide to do the comic strip, you must have six individual images. You must include a paragraph explaining the illustration’s significance in relation to the short story you are reading for this unit.
Literary Luminary: Your role is to find interesting, pertinent, and/or difficult parts of the short story to discuss with the group. You must include a paragraph explaining the significance of the quotations you pull from the text. You need to select five different areas of the text.
Questioner: Your role is to create five discussion questions to lead a group discussion for your short story. You need to include answers to each question. These should be at least five sentence answers.
Connector: Your role is to connect and expand on the information provided in the short story. These connections can be other texts, newspaper articles, laws, movies, etc. Be sure to explain how these connections enhance your understanding of the story.
Summarizer: Your role is to summarize the text. Write a synopsis of the important parts of the short story. In addition, you need to create a plot diagram to indicate significant parts of the short story.
Song Interpreter: Your role is to choose five songs that relate to your short story. You are essentially creating a playlist to go with your short story. Please print off the lyrics or write them out. In addition, you need to write a paragraph explaining the significance of your choices in relation to the short story.
Illustrator: Your role is to summarize any excerpt from the short story through a collage or a comic strip. If you decide to do the comic strip, you must have six individual images. You must include a paragraph explaining the illustration’s significance in relation to the short story you are reading for this unit.
Literary Luminary: Your role is to find interesting, pertinent, and/or difficult parts of the short story to discuss with the group. You must include a paragraph explaining the significance of the quotations you pull from the text. You need to select five different areas of the text.
Questioner: Your role is to create five discussion questions to lead a group discussion for your short story. You need to include answers to each question. These should be at least five sentence answers.
Connector: Your role is to connect and expand on the information provided in the short story. These connections can be other texts, newspaper articles, laws, movies, etc. Be sure to explain how these connections enhance your understanding of the story.
Summarizer: Your role is to summarize the text. Write a synopsis of the important parts of the short story. In addition, you need to create a plot diagram to indicate significant parts of the short story.
Whole class example
"The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin (1894)
Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under hte breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under hte breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.
Close read expectations |
As you read, you are expected to keep a character list (identifying important characters and including descriptions given in the text). In addition, make a list of potential symbols that might represent a bigger idea or concept. Lastly, you need to highlight word choice and document where the tone and mood of the story changes.
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Questions
1. How did you react to the end of the story?
2. How would you explain the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death?
3. What are your impressions of Mrs. Mallard?
Consider: (A) How Richards and Josephine treat her, (B) Her Initial reaction to the news of her husband's death, ( C ) Why she says under her breath, "'Free, free, free!'" and (D) How she reacts when her husband arrives.
4. How would you describe Mrs. Mallard's relationship with her husband?
5. What might the future have been like for the Mallards if Mrs. Mallard had lived?
2. How would you explain the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death?
3. What are your impressions of Mrs. Mallard?
Consider: (A) How Richards and Josephine treat her, (B) Her Initial reaction to the news of her husband's death, ( C ) Why she says under her breath, "'Free, free, free!'" and (D) How she reacts when her husband arrives.
4. How would you describe Mrs. Mallard's relationship with her husband?
5. What might the future have been like for the Mallards if Mrs. Mallard had lived?
Group one: "Good Country people" by flannery o'connor
Focal Point: Writing Style & Significance
Question 1: “Good Country People” begins with several long paragraphs, but the narrative, which follows, turns out to be mostly dialogue. Why do you think Flannery O’Connor chose to begin in this way? Through whose eyes do we see Mrs. Freeman? Mrs. Hopewell? What do you assume to be the narrator's attitude toward these characters?
Focal Point: Character Flaws & Moral of the Story
Question 2: In O’Connor’s works, all of her characters are flawed in some way—and most are spiritually and morally corrupt. How do, in “GCP,” bodily handicaps symbolize the greater handicap of the intellect, the heart, and the soul? Why does O’Connor present these flawed characters to her readers? For what purpose? What do you think her motive is? What is the moral of her story?
Focal Point: Weak Heart Symbolism
Question 3: In “GCP,” Joy-Hulga is described to the readers as having a weak heart. We can assume, then, that this weak heart signifies something else (perhaps her emotional detachment, etc.). How do we see this? Why does O’Connor present Joy-Hulga to us as a person who is seemingly unable to love anyone or anything?
Focal Point: Eyeglasses Symbolism
Question 4: Think about Joy-Hulga’s eyeglasses and whether or not they signify and reflect something other than her intelligence. Remember, Manley Pointer takes Joy Hulga’s glasses off at the end of the story. Does this removal of her glasses perhaps signify the fact that she is blind to reality, having knowledge of books and abstract ideas, rather than of people and concrete objects? If so, how does O’Connor portray this in Joy Hulga’s character? How do her actions/words demonstrate this signification?
Focal Point: Symbolism of the Wooden Leg
Question 5: Of all the flaws that O’Connor’s characters’ posses, she seems most concerned with spiritual defects. Think about this in terms of Joy-Hulga’s false leg. To what does this false leg symbolize? Does it somehow relate to false religion? If so, how? If this is the case, what comment is O’Connor making about philosophy?
Focal Point: Sympathy Development
Question 6: Is Hulga regarded with sympathy? If so, by whom? Is there a difference between the way that other characters see her and the way that we, as readers, are eventually encouraged to see her? Does our sympathy, as readers, change as we progress through the story? Do we feel sorry for Hulga at the end.
Focal Point: Significance of the Last Word
Question 7: The story ends with Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell making condescending remarks about the "simplicity" of others. Are they right about the "nice dull young man"? Are they right about themselves? Why does O'Connor give these two women the job of offering the final comments in this story?
Focal Point: Vices & Perspective on Feminism
Question 8: What vices does Joy-Hulga embody? A vice is a fault. What critique might O’Connor be making about educated women like Joy-Hulga? What about individuals like Mrs. Freeman’s daughters? How might this tie into feminism or the idea that women should be active figures with equal rights in society, autonomy, and freedom to choose lifestyles? Do you think the characters in this short story are feminists? Why or why not?
Focal Point: Significance in Character Names
Question 9: Think about the names of characters in this story. Make a list of the characters and their names. Then, elaborate on the qualities that might give insight or knowledge into why O’Connor selected these particular names for the characters in the text?
Question 1: “Good Country People” begins with several long paragraphs, but the narrative, which follows, turns out to be mostly dialogue. Why do you think Flannery O’Connor chose to begin in this way? Through whose eyes do we see Mrs. Freeman? Mrs. Hopewell? What do you assume to be the narrator's attitude toward these characters?
Focal Point: Character Flaws & Moral of the Story
Question 2: In O’Connor’s works, all of her characters are flawed in some way—and most are spiritually and morally corrupt. How do, in “GCP,” bodily handicaps symbolize the greater handicap of the intellect, the heart, and the soul? Why does O’Connor present these flawed characters to her readers? For what purpose? What do you think her motive is? What is the moral of her story?
Focal Point: Weak Heart Symbolism
Question 3: In “GCP,” Joy-Hulga is described to the readers as having a weak heart. We can assume, then, that this weak heart signifies something else (perhaps her emotional detachment, etc.). How do we see this? Why does O’Connor present Joy-Hulga to us as a person who is seemingly unable to love anyone or anything?
Focal Point: Eyeglasses Symbolism
Question 4: Think about Joy-Hulga’s eyeglasses and whether or not they signify and reflect something other than her intelligence. Remember, Manley Pointer takes Joy Hulga’s glasses off at the end of the story. Does this removal of her glasses perhaps signify the fact that she is blind to reality, having knowledge of books and abstract ideas, rather than of people and concrete objects? If so, how does O’Connor portray this in Joy Hulga’s character? How do her actions/words demonstrate this signification?
Focal Point: Symbolism of the Wooden Leg
Question 5: Of all the flaws that O’Connor’s characters’ posses, she seems most concerned with spiritual defects. Think about this in terms of Joy-Hulga’s false leg. To what does this false leg symbolize? Does it somehow relate to false religion? If so, how? If this is the case, what comment is O’Connor making about philosophy?
Focal Point: Sympathy Development
Question 6: Is Hulga regarded with sympathy? If so, by whom? Is there a difference between the way that other characters see her and the way that we, as readers, are eventually encouraged to see her? Does our sympathy, as readers, change as we progress through the story? Do we feel sorry for Hulga at the end.
Focal Point: Significance of the Last Word
Question 7: The story ends with Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell making condescending remarks about the "simplicity" of others. Are they right about the "nice dull young man"? Are they right about themselves? Why does O'Connor give these two women the job of offering the final comments in this story?
Focal Point: Vices & Perspective on Feminism
Question 8: What vices does Joy-Hulga embody? A vice is a fault. What critique might O’Connor be making about educated women like Joy-Hulga? What about individuals like Mrs. Freeman’s daughters? How might this tie into feminism or the idea that women should be active figures with equal rights in society, autonomy, and freedom to choose lifestyles? Do you think the characters in this short story are feminists? Why or why not?
Focal Point: Significance in Character Names
Question 9: Think about the names of characters in this story. Make a list of the characters and their names. Then, elaborate on the qualities that might give insight or knowledge into why O’Connor selected these particular names for the characters in the text?
Group two: "The thing in the forest" by A.s. byatt
Focal Point: Crimson Symbolism
Question 1: In Byatt’s, The Thing in the Forest, crimson symbolism is introduced early on in the story, and is revisited throughout. Identify at least two places where there is crimson symbolism in the text. Be sure to explain the significance of crimson symbolism.
Focal Point: Fantasy Versus Reality
Question 2: When they enter the place they are forced to live, Penny and Primrose describe the house as having “a double flight of imposing stairs to its front door, and carved griffins and unicorns on it balustrade.” The reader is immediately given the visual of a grand and “imposing” building, with magical creatures bestowed on and carved into it. This type of place could be a castle to children; a wondrous and cavernous creation meant for them to explore and enjoy. However, these young girls are ripped back into reality with “long makeshift dormitories where once servants slept.” They also had “camp beds (military issue) and gray shoddy blankets” (36). Why might the author wish to bounce back and forth between a fantasy world and the harsh realities that the young girls have to face?
Focal Point: Significance of Alys
Question 3: What is Alys role in the story? What happens to Alys in the story? After the girls run into the forest, and disappear behind the brush, Alys is forgotten completely, until Penny and Primrose reunite as adults… What does Alys symbolize?
Focal Point: What was “The Thing in the Forest?”
Question 4: Was the thing in the forest real or a figment of the imagination? Did Primrose and Penny’s experience really happen? Explain what they saw in the forest. Describe the thing in the forest. What might it symbolize?
Focal Point: Significance of Fairytale Elements
Question 5: Describe some of the fairytale elements used in this story. Why do you think Byatt incorporated fairytale like archetypes into this dark story? What is significant about the contrast between the fairytale elements and the worm in the forest?
Focal Point: Parallel Lives
Question 6: How do Penny and Primrose’s lives parallel? How are they similar? In your answer be sure to include their similar childhoods and their career choices? Do you think their experience in the forest influenced their futures? Why or why not?
Focal Point: Significance of Timeframe
Question 7: How does the timeframe change the way that you interpret the story? Around what time frame does this story take place? With this information, what might the thing in the forest represent or symbolize? Explain your reasoning.
Focal Point: Power of Perspective
Question 8: Do you think that the story would have been different if told from the perspective of Alys? How would it have been different? If not different, how would it have been the same. Explain your reasoning.
Focal Point: British Versus American Literature
This piece is written by a British author. However, it still fits into the Southern Gothic literary movement. How is this piece of British literature different from the themes, settings, and descriptions provided in the pieces of American literature we have covered up to this point?
Question 1: In Byatt’s, The Thing in the Forest, crimson symbolism is introduced early on in the story, and is revisited throughout. Identify at least two places where there is crimson symbolism in the text. Be sure to explain the significance of crimson symbolism.
Focal Point: Fantasy Versus Reality
Question 2: When they enter the place they are forced to live, Penny and Primrose describe the house as having “a double flight of imposing stairs to its front door, and carved griffins and unicorns on it balustrade.” The reader is immediately given the visual of a grand and “imposing” building, with magical creatures bestowed on and carved into it. This type of place could be a castle to children; a wondrous and cavernous creation meant for them to explore and enjoy. However, these young girls are ripped back into reality with “long makeshift dormitories where once servants slept.” They also had “camp beds (military issue) and gray shoddy blankets” (36). Why might the author wish to bounce back and forth between a fantasy world and the harsh realities that the young girls have to face?
Focal Point: Significance of Alys
Question 3: What is Alys role in the story? What happens to Alys in the story? After the girls run into the forest, and disappear behind the brush, Alys is forgotten completely, until Penny and Primrose reunite as adults… What does Alys symbolize?
Focal Point: What was “The Thing in the Forest?”
Question 4: Was the thing in the forest real or a figment of the imagination? Did Primrose and Penny’s experience really happen? Explain what they saw in the forest. Describe the thing in the forest. What might it symbolize?
Focal Point: Significance of Fairytale Elements
Question 5: Describe some of the fairytale elements used in this story. Why do you think Byatt incorporated fairytale like archetypes into this dark story? What is significant about the contrast between the fairytale elements and the worm in the forest?
Focal Point: Parallel Lives
Question 6: How do Penny and Primrose’s lives parallel? How are they similar? In your answer be sure to include their similar childhoods and their career choices? Do you think their experience in the forest influenced their futures? Why or why not?
Focal Point: Significance of Timeframe
Question 7: How does the timeframe change the way that you interpret the story? Around what time frame does this story take place? With this information, what might the thing in the forest represent or symbolize? Explain your reasoning.
Focal Point: Power of Perspective
Question 8: Do you think that the story would have been different if told from the perspective of Alys? How would it have been different? If not different, how would it have been the same. Explain your reasoning.
Focal Point: British Versus American Literature
This piece is written by a British author. However, it still fits into the Southern Gothic literary movement. How is this piece of British literature different from the themes, settings, and descriptions provided in the pieces of American literature we have covered up to this point?
Group three: "sweat" by zora neale hurston
Focal Point: Analyzing Socio-economic Symbols
Question 1: What information does the first part of the story reveal about the social and economic contexts in which Delia and Sykes live? What do Eatonville and Winter Park represent?
Focal Point: Studying Initial Characterization
Question 2: How does Zora Neale Hurston represent Delia and Sykes in the first part of the story?
Focal Point: Noticing Feminism
Question 3: What change can you see in Delia’s behavior towards Sykes in the first part of the story? Discuss what this could tell you about Zora Neale Hurston’s attitude towards gender. How would you evaluate the story as a feminist text? Discuss to what extent and in what ways Zora Neale Hurston’s story challenges gender roles.
Focal Point: Indirect Characterization
Question 4: In the second part of the story village men on Joe Clarke’s porch talk about Delia. What do you learn more about Delia and Sykes from their talk?
Focal Point: Examining Allusions
Question 5: In the third part of the story, there are references to Gethsemane, the rocks of Calvary and Jurden water? What do they signify in relation to Delia?
Focal Point: Rattlesnake Symbolism
Question 6: What does the rattlesnake symbolize in the story?
Focal Point: Shift in Confidence
Question 7: Comment on Delia’s confrontation with her husband in the third part of the story. In what way(s) could this be important in the story? How is Delia changing as a character?
Focal Point: Analyzing Delia’s Contemplation
Question 8: Towards the end of the story, we see Delia “climbing up in the hay barn” and lying there for an hour or more. What does she do there? Why is this important in the story?
Focal Point: Sun Imagery
Question 9: Comment on Zora Neale Hurston’s use of the sun imagery at the end of the story. What does it represent?
Focal Point: Analyzing Final Representations
Question 10: Read the last three paragraphs of the story closely and discuss how Zora Neale Hurston represents Delia and Sykes here. Is there any change in their representations?
Focal Point: Studying Relationship Dynamics & Motives
Question 11: Discuss the reasons for Sykes’ harsh treatment of Delia.
Focal Point: Significance of Title
Question 12: Discuss the significance of the title. How could “Sweat” be applicable to Delia’s and Sykes life?
Question 1: What information does the first part of the story reveal about the social and economic contexts in which Delia and Sykes live? What do Eatonville and Winter Park represent?
Focal Point: Studying Initial Characterization
Question 2: How does Zora Neale Hurston represent Delia and Sykes in the first part of the story?
Focal Point: Noticing Feminism
Question 3: What change can you see in Delia’s behavior towards Sykes in the first part of the story? Discuss what this could tell you about Zora Neale Hurston’s attitude towards gender. How would you evaluate the story as a feminist text? Discuss to what extent and in what ways Zora Neale Hurston’s story challenges gender roles.
Focal Point: Indirect Characterization
Question 4: In the second part of the story village men on Joe Clarke’s porch talk about Delia. What do you learn more about Delia and Sykes from their talk?
Focal Point: Examining Allusions
Question 5: In the third part of the story, there are references to Gethsemane, the rocks of Calvary and Jurden water? What do they signify in relation to Delia?
Focal Point: Rattlesnake Symbolism
Question 6: What does the rattlesnake symbolize in the story?
Focal Point: Shift in Confidence
Question 7: Comment on Delia’s confrontation with her husband in the third part of the story. In what way(s) could this be important in the story? How is Delia changing as a character?
Focal Point: Analyzing Delia’s Contemplation
Question 8: Towards the end of the story, we see Delia “climbing up in the hay barn” and lying there for an hour or more. What does she do there? Why is this important in the story?
Focal Point: Sun Imagery
Question 9: Comment on Zora Neale Hurston’s use of the sun imagery at the end of the story. What does it represent?
Focal Point: Analyzing Final Representations
Question 10: Read the last three paragraphs of the story closely and discuss how Zora Neale Hurston represents Delia and Sykes here. Is there any change in their representations?
Focal Point: Studying Relationship Dynamics & Motives
Question 11: Discuss the reasons for Sykes’ harsh treatment of Delia.
Focal Point: Significance of Title
Question 12: Discuss the significance of the title. How could “Sweat” be applicable to Delia’s and Sykes life?
Group four: "Everyday use" by alice walker
Focal Point: Narrator’s Feeling and Point-of-View Question 1: Explain the mother (the narrator) in this story. What kind of person is she? How does she seem to feel about Dee? How does she feel about Maggie?
Focal Point: Foreshadowing of Dee Question 2: What elements prepare the reader for Dee before she arrives on the scene? What do we find out about Dee before she arrives?
Focal Point: Dee’s Position/Role in the Family Question 3: How did Dee relate to her family before she left home? What role did she assume for herself? Does her role change after she leaves home and returns again?
Focal Point: Opinions of Dee Question 4: How do you feel about Dee? Do you sympathize with her desire to “improve” herself and her family? Or do you disagree with Dee’s motives for coming home?
Focal Point: Binary Opposition in Sisterhood Question 5: Discuss the relationship between Maggie and Dee.
Focal Point: Documentation as Remembrance Question 6: What is suggested by Dee’s prolonged picture-taking with her Polaroid? What about her kissing her mother on the forehead? What do you make of these actions? Do they display sincerity?
Focal Point: Interpreting Heritage
Question 7: Why has Dee assumed African dress, hairstyle, and name? What is significant about Dee changing her name to Wangero? What is heritage? How does this reflect a shift in the values of heritage?
Focal Point: Judging the Characteristics and Attitudes of Characters Question 8: How would you characterize the attitudes of her and her new husband/boyfriend toward their race? Consider: Positive or negative attitudes? Honest/Genuine or simply “politically correct?”
Focal Point: The New Persona Question 9: Discuss Dee’s mother’s and sister’s reactions to her new persona, “Wangero.” Do you sympathize with them? Who do you identify more with- Dee and Maggie or Wangero? Why?
Focal Point: Significance of Dee’s Wishes Question 10: How would you describe the way that Dee reacts to the food and objects in her mother’s house? What does she want? What does she want to do with these items? Does she get them?
Focal Point: Significance of the Conclusion Question 11: Why does Mrs. Johnson decide to stand up to Dee and not allow her to take the quilts at the end of the story? Why do you think Maggie is so content at the end?
Focal Point: Significance of Associations of Race in the Text Question 12: Could this story just as well have been about a mother and her daughters of a different race? Aside from the African or Muslim names, does anything distinguish Dee’s relations with her mother and Maggie as especially African American? Is this a quality of strength or weakness in the story?
Focal Point: Foreshadowing of Dee Question 2: What elements prepare the reader for Dee before she arrives on the scene? What do we find out about Dee before she arrives?
Focal Point: Dee’s Position/Role in the Family Question 3: How did Dee relate to her family before she left home? What role did she assume for herself? Does her role change after she leaves home and returns again?
Focal Point: Opinions of Dee Question 4: How do you feel about Dee? Do you sympathize with her desire to “improve” herself and her family? Or do you disagree with Dee’s motives for coming home?
Focal Point: Binary Opposition in Sisterhood Question 5: Discuss the relationship between Maggie and Dee.
Focal Point: Documentation as Remembrance Question 6: What is suggested by Dee’s prolonged picture-taking with her Polaroid? What about her kissing her mother on the forehead? What do you make of these actions? Do they display sincerity?
Focal Point: Interpreting Heritage
Question 7: Why has Dee assumed African dress, hairstyle, and name? What is significant about Dee changing her name to Wangero? What is heritage? How does this reflect a shift in the values of heritage?
Focal Point: Judging the Characteristics and Attitudes of Characters Question 8: How would you characterize the attitudes of her and her new husband/boyfriend toward their race? Consider: Positive or negative attitudes? Honest/Genuine or simply “politically correct?”
Focal Point: The New Persona Question 9: Discuss Dee’s mother’s and sister’s reactions to her new persona, “Wangero.” Do you sympathize with them? Who do you identify more with- Dee and Maggie or Wangero? Why?
Focal Point: Significance of Dee’s Wishes Question 10: How would you describe the way that Dee reacts to the food and objects in her mother’s house? What does she want? What does she want to do with these items? Does she get them?
Focal Point: Significance of the Conclusion Question 11: Why does Mrs. Johnson decide to stand up to Dee and not allow her to take the quilts at the end of the story? Why do you think Maggie is so content at the end?
Focal Point: Significance of Associations of Race in the Text Question 12: Could this story just as well have been about a mother and her daughters of a different race? Aside from the African or Muslim names, does anything distinguish Dee’s relations with her mother and Maggie as especially African American? Is this a quality of strength or weakness in the story?
group five: "Harrison bergeron" by kurt vonnegut
Focal Point: The Ideal of Equality
Question 1: Describe the state of the U.S. society as described in the first paragraph. How has “equality”
been achieved?
Focal Point: Interpreting Purpose of Handicaps
Question 2: Consider the characters of George and Hazel. Why isn’t Hazel handicapped?
Focal Point: Feelings Regarding Handicaps
Question 3: How does George seem to feel about his handicaps?
Focal Point: Threats to Equality
Question 4: Consider the character of Harrison in terms of both his physical qualities and personality traits. Why is he considered a threat to society?
Focal Point: Symbolism in Removing Handicaps
Question 5: In your opinion, what is the shedding of Harrison’s handicaps symbolic of?
Focal Point: Significance of the Dance
Question 6: What is the significance of the dance that Harrison performs with the ballerina? How does the style, in which the story is written, change in this passage?
Focal Point: Analyzing Writer’s Motive
Question 7: Why do you think the Vonnegut decides to write dance scene in this way?
Focal Point: Parental Reactions
Question 8: How do George and Hazel react to the televised murder of their son?
Focal Point: What is the moral of the story?
Question 9: What do you consider to be the message of Harrison Bergeron (there are multiple)? What leads you to this understanding of the text?
Focal Point: Re-visiting for Realizations
Question 10: Reread the first column of the story. What revelations occur to you now that you know the
ending?
Question 1: Describe the state of the U.S. society as described in the first paragraph. How has “equality”
been achieved?
Focal Point: Interpreting Purpose of Handicaps
Question 2: Consider the characters of George and Hazel. Why isn’t Hazel handicapped?
Focal Point: Feelings Regarding Handicaps
Question 3: How does George seem to feel about his handicaps?
Focal Point: Threats to Equality
Question 4: Consider the character of Harrison in terms of both his physical qualities and personality traits. Why is he considered a threat to society?
Focal Point: Symbolism in Removing Handicaps
Question 5: In your opinion, what is the shedding of Harrison’s handicaps symbolic of?
Focal Point: Significance of the Dance
Question 6: What is the significance of the dance that Harrison performs with the ballerina? How does the style, in which the story is written, change in this passage?
Focal Point: Analyzing Writer’s Motive
Question 7: Why do you think the Vonnegut decides to write dance scene in this way?
Focal Point: Parental Reactions
Question 8: How do George and Hazel react to the televised murder of their son?
Focal Point: What is the moral of the story?
Question 9: What do you consider to be the message of Harrison Bergeron (there are multiple)? What leads you to this understanding of the text?
Focal Point: Re-visiting for Realizations
Question 10: Reread the first column of the story. What revelations occur to you now that you know the
ending?