Chapter One Questions

Kristina Welborn
Intro to Literature
Dr. Hepworth


Questions for Chapter 1 stories include the following:


AESOP

1. Describe the different personalities of the North Wind and the Sun.

Answer: The North Wind is hostile and too confident in his abilities. The Sun shows a more patient personality.

2. What was ineffective about the North Wind’s method for attempting to strip the man of his cloak?

Answer: The North Wind’s approach was too forceful and caused the man to only hold tighter to his cloak. The North Wind thought he could force the man into letting go of his cloak against his own will. The North Wind underestimated the man’s power.

3. Why was the Sun successful in his attempts? What did he do differently than the North Wind?

Answer: The Sun was persuasive and did not try to force the cloak off of the man. Instead, he used of sort of persuasion to get the man to remove his cloak of his own will.

4. What purpose does the human serve in the dispute?

Answer: The human serves as an object to show which method proves successful.

5. Explain the closing moral in terms of the fable.

Answer: The closing moral states the following: Persuasion is better than force. This fable shows that when the North Wind tries to remove the traveler’s cloak with force, he is unsuccessful. Yet, when the Sun takes a more gentle approach and allows the man to remove his cloak on his own, he is successful.




CHUANG TZU

1. What part of the story is the exposistion? How many sentences does Chuang Tzu use to set up the dramatic situation?

Answer: The first few sentences of the story make up the exposition. These sentences tell who the characters of the story will be and also sets the scene.

When Chuang Tzu tells his story to the two high officials, it takes him only one sentence to set up his story: “I have heard that in the State of Ch’u there is a sacred tortoise, which has been dead three thousand years, and which the prince keeps packed up in a box on the altar in his ancestral shrine.”

2. Why does the protagonist change the subject and mention the sacred tortoise? Why doesn’t he answer the request directly and immediately? Does it serve any purpose that Chuang Tzu makes the officials answer a question to which he knows the answer?

Answer: I don’t necessarily think that the protagonist was changing the subject. His answer projected his deeper feelings about the request and why he would rather not take on such a political role. A direct answer would defeat his purpose of teaching the officials a lesson while also offering his answer to their request. That he asked a question he already knows the answer to allows a sort of mockery toward the officials.

3. What does this story tell us about the protagonist Chuang Tzu’s personality?

Answer: Chuang Tzu’s personality is somewhat mocking yet knowledgeable.



A & P

1. What details stand out for you as particularly true to life? What does this close attention to detail contribute to the story?

Answer: Everything in the story is easy to relate to true life from the layout of the store to the people shopping in the store to the people working there. All the details set the scene very nicely. Details make the story seem more real and interesting.

2. How full does Updike draw the character of Sammy? What traits (admirable or otherwise)does Sammy show? Is he any less a hero for wanting the girls to notice his heroism? To what extent is he more thoroughly and fully portrayed than the doctor in “Godfather Death”?

Answer: While there is not an extensive background on Sammy, the reader does learn some of his characteristics simply because as a reader you see the story through his eyes and perceptions. He seems simple and nice enough besides the fact that he makes some fairly rude comments regarding the girls who enter in their swimsuits. He does show admirable traits because he starts to feel sorry for the girls and sticks up for them when they are confronted by the manager.

I don’t think he is less of a hero because the girls didn’t notice him. He will probably have left an imprint on at least one person in that supermarket to help the wave of change that needed to occur regarding limitation placed people (especially women) during that time period. It does seem as though he wanted the girls to hear him-maybe to make them feel better-or maybe he wanted the gratification of looking like a hero to them.

He is more thoroughly and fully portrayed than the doctor in “Godfather Death” because the reader actually is aware of what is going on in his mind. I didn’t really get the feel of what type of person the doctor was and what his traits and characteristics were. Sammy, however, was easier to decipher because the story is told through his recollections.


3. What part of the story seems to be the exposition? Of what value to the story is the carefully detailed portrait of Queenie, the leader of the three girls?

Answer: I am not sure what to classify as the exposition, which is usually found at the beginning and sets the scene, introduces the characters, tells us what happened before the store opened, and provides any other background information that we need in order to understand and care about the events that follow as stated in the book. All of these things seem to be introduced throughout the story.



4. As the story develops, do you detect any change in Sammy’s feelings toward the girls?

Answer: In the beginning, Sammy seems to find it funny that the girls are causing a scene in the otherwise boring and predictable store. A little later in the story he actually begins feeling sorry for them as the story states the following: “Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for the, they couldn’t help it.”

5. Where in “A & P” does the dramatic conflict become apparent? What moment in the story brings the crisis? What is the climax of the story?

Answer: Well, as a reader you know there is going to be some kind of conflict arising because Sammy introduces it by the following: “Now here comes the sad part of the story…” The crisis begins as soon as the manager becomes present in the situation. He confronts the girls, bringing on the crisis. I would consider the point at which Sammy says “I quit” to be the climax. This was the moment of greatest tension.

6. Why, exactly, does Sammy quit his job?

Answer: I don’t think it was a fully righteous, bold move that he intended to start of movement with or something along those lines. I think it was a spur of the moment thing, and he intended to make the girls more comfortable and let them know that not everyone felt the same as the manager. He was upset that they were so embarrassed by Lengel.

7. Does anything lead you to expect Sammy to make some gesture of sympathy for the three girls? What incident earlier in the story (before Sammy quits) seems a foreshadowing?

Answer: As stated earlier, I believe he starts to feel sympathetic when he states that he feels sorry for the kids after man at the meat counter was “sizing up their joints.“

8. What do you understand from the conclusion of the story? What does Sammy mean when he acknowledges “how hard the world was going to be …hereafter”?

Answer: I am not sure if Sammy is acknowledging the bigger picture here or just realizing that he had given up a job opportunity in a small community. Maybe he is worried about upholding the principle he set forth in story.

9. What comment does Updike --through Sammy--make on supermarket society?

Answer: Supermarket society is shown to be rigid, inflexible, with the same type of people on a daily basis.

Questions About Syllabus

1. The syllabus states the following: We will also practice analytical and mimaginative writing and take advantage of special events. I am curious as to what special events we will be attending and if these events will be during class time.

2. There is not schedule on the syllabus. I was wondering if exams will be on a set schedule or if it depends on where we are in class. Also, study guides or reviews for exams?