"A Rose For Emily" 205
"Sleepy Time Gal" 150
"The Tell-Tale Heart" 622
"The Yellow Wallpaper" 366
"This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" 260
Directions: You are required to answer only one of the main questions, which will appear in red. This question is due no later than Thursday, Feb. 19. Following the red questions will be other questions, in black, which you should read and think about--they may help you answer the main question. However, you are not required to answer these questions in writing.
Please answer the question as thoughtfully as possible, after reading the lecture. Then post your answer to the English 102 Message Board by the deadline.
Your responses to other students' answers are due by midnight on Saturday, Feb. 21. In order to get the full 20 points, you MUST respond thoughtfully to at least 3 or 4 other people's postings.
If you are registered in Section 7622, you'll use Message Board 1. Click on the button below to visit your Message Board:
If you are registered in Section 7623, you'll use Message Board 2. Click on the button below to visit your Message Board:
Remember: This discussion question is worth a possible 20 points. Late answers will receive 0 points. Points will be assigned according to the thoughtfulness of your answer, not by whether it is "right" or not, since sometimes there is no "right" answer. Just be sure your ideas are supported by the material in the story (see Lecture 1).
Some people think that Faulkner is writing, in this story, about social class; others think he is writing about the changes that take place as one way of life passes away and is replaced by another. Still others believe he is writing about small town social dynamics; and some think he is writing about the psychology of murder. What do you think?
- Briefly summarize the events of the story, putting them in chronological order.
- Why do you think Faulkner chose to jump around in time so much? Why not just tell the story chronologically?
- Do you think the people of the town knew what crime Emily had committed? Why or why not? If they did know, why wasn't she prosecuted?
- Why did Emily murder Homer?
- A theme which is common to all of Faulkner's stories and novels is time. What references to time are there in this story? What does Faulkner seem to be saying about time? About the way people experience time in their memories?
- What is Miss Emily's role in the town--that is, what does she represent to the people of the town?
- How have things changed in the town since Miss Emily was a girl? Are the changes good or bad?
- Who is the narrator?
- What, in your opinion, are the themes of the story? What examples and/or quotes from the story can you give to support your interpretation?
Why does the narrator keep intruding into the story, and why does he call attention to his intrusions?
- Who is the narrator?
- What does the narrator mean when he says his father didn't emphasize "the important parts"? (paragraph 2) Why does he say he'll try to tell it the same way?
- Why mention that it was his mother who talked about the girl resting her head on Phil's shoulder?
- Is the story about Phil, or about the narrator's parents? What details do we learn about the narrator's parents? How do we learn these details?
- Why does the narrator mention that the story took place before t.v.?
- How do the narrator's parents feel about the man Phil's girl married?
- How does the narrator's mother describe the woman Phil married? How do the narrator's parents feel about her? About Phil?
Poe was fascinated by the idea that someone could be perfectly rational and intelligent, and still be insane--or that he could be completely evil, and still be sane. Is the narrator sane? (*See Note below)
- To whom is the narrator speaking?
- What reason does the narrator give for killing the old man?
- What do the narrator and the old man have in common?
- Why is it the old man's eye that the narrator is obsessed with? (Hint: Remember that "eye" and "I" are pronounced the same way.)
- The narrator hears the old man's heart twice in the story. What does the beating heart represent?
- What, in your opinion, are the themes of the story? What examples and/or quotes from the story can you give to support your interpretation?
Poe was engaged to be married. He lived in Richmond, Virginia at the time, and the wedding was to be held in Providence, Rhode Island. So Poe got on the train in Richmond--and disappeared. For the next six days, no one could find him. By chance, one of his friends came upon him lying, sick and delirious, in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland. He had no money or possessions, and he was not wearing his own clothes. His friend took Poe to a hospital. During his periods of consciousness, he told his friend and anyone else who attended him that killers were hunting for him, and begged people to hide him, or at least help him shave his beard to disguise himself. He died a couple of days later, unable to tell anyone where he had been or what had happened to him.
The cause of his death is not known; Poe's symptoms are consistent with a brain tumor or brain injury, and a new theory claims he may have died of rabies.
What is Gilman's message in this story? How does she use the setting and the point of view to help express it?
- The narrator says, in paragraph 5, "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage." What does this tell the reader about her marriage? What does it tell you about how she perceives herself? What does it tell you about how she perceives her role as John's wife?
- Why does Gilman choose to use first person point of view?
- How does the style of the story reflect the narrator's mental condition (i.e., the short paragraphs, the repetition, etc.)?
- What room does John choose for their bedroom? How is this symbolic of their relationship?
- What role does the wallpaper play in the narrator's mental disintegration?
- Why is the narrator given no name? Why is the husband named John? Why is his sister named Jane?
- John is clearly not dealing with his wife's illness in the proper way; do you think he is malicious toward her?
- How does the narrator contribute to the lack of communication in her marriage, and thus to her own illness?
"This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona"
What is Sherman Alexie saying in this story about the role of storytelling?
- How important is the setting in this story?
- What is the point of view? Why did Alexie choose this point of view?
- Who is the protagonist? The antagonist?
- Why doesn't anyone feel comfortable around Thomas Builds-the-Fire?
- Why can't Victor and Thomas be friends, despite all their shared experiences?
- Why does Thomas go to Phoenix with Victor?