Instructions
For this discussion, please read “Araby,” “Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?” “Girl,” “Volar,” and “A Rose for Emily.” Respond to one of the questions below.
- How does Kincaid create an impression of setting in this story? How would the effect of “Girl” be different if the setting were described in greater detail?
- How important is the setting of “Where Are You Going” to the conflict of the story? Close-read setting details to explain how they interact with other aspects of the story.
- How important is the setting to “A Rose for Emily”? Is the setting essential to the conflict and characters?
- What settings are described in detail in “A Rose for Emily” and which are sketched? What seems to be the effect of the full descriptions of certain settings? How would the significance of events that occur in those settings change without the description?
- What is the importance of the setting of “Volar” to the story? What is the effect of the specificity of setting place in “Volar” and the vagueness of other aspects of the setting?
- What details of the setting stand out in Joyce’s story “Araby”? What impression do we get of the narrator’s world from these details? How is this world important in shaping the narrator’s experience in the story? Does the setting have some role in the conflict the narrator faces?
- Choose one of the stories we read this week and explain how, and through what details, it establishes a mood.
- Critic Walter Wells argues that John Updike’s “A&P” is a retelling of James Joyce’s “Araby,” as they are both stories of young male characters whose infatuation leads to an emotional fall and realization. What similarities or differences do you notice in their use of setting, and what is the significance of them?
Week One Discussion: Tone and Symbol
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For this discussion, please read “Volar,” “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, “A&P,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “Girl.” Respond to one of the questions below.
- What images stand out to you as symbolic in any of the stories from this week? Consider images that are associated with mythology, religious, literature or popular culture and explain what details in specific passages suggest this significance.
- What meanings might the rose in “A Rose for Emily” evoke? Remember to cite particular passages to support your reading.
- What is the significance of the bazaar for the narrator of “Araby” at the beginning of the story? What is its significance at the end of the story? What details help you to answer these questions?
- What is Sammy’s tone at the end of the story? How does that tone contribute to your reading of the story?
- What words in “Girl” suggest the tone of the speaker? How would you describe the relationship between the two speakers’ tones?
- How would you describe the tone or style of “Volar”? Can you identify one or two specific passages that help create this tone or style? How does this tone or style interact with other aspects of the story like point of view?
- Critic Walter Wells argues that John Updike’s “A&P” is a retelling of James Joyce’s “Araby,” as they are both stories of young male characters whose infatuation leads to an emotional fall and realization. What similarities or differences do you notice in their use of tone and symbol, and what is the significance of them?
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