Southern Gothic Literature
Study Question Packet
Hartness & Mooneyham
2013
“The Flowers” by Alice Walker
Define the following vocabulary words:
1. Benignly
2. Debris
3. Fragrant
4. Frazzled
5. Keenness
6. Laden
7. Vaguely
8. Yelp
Answer the following questions:
9. How do we know the setting of this story? What clues are in the story?
10. What can we guess about Myop? How old is she, and what might her life be like?
11. What can we guess about the dead man that Myop steps on? What kind of person was he? How did he die?
12. How does the ending of “The Flowers” contrast with the beginning of the story? How is the mood of the story different by the end?
13. Why does Myop lay down her flowers at the end of the story?
14. Why does Alice Walker state at the end of the story, “And the summer was over.” Does she mean this phrase LITERALLY or FIGURATIVELY? What could she possibly mean?
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
1. Why doesn’t the grandmother want to go to Florida?
2. Who does the grandmother smuggle into the car?
3. Who is Edgar Atkins Teagarden and what is his connection to watermelons?
4. Who did the family encounter on their trip to Florida?
5. What happened to the family?
6. What did the old woman imagine herself to be?
7. Why is June Star disappointed after the accident?
8. What was an omen foretelling the events that occurred?
9. How would you best describe the old lady?
10. Why does the grandmother say the driver must be a good man?
11. What does the grandmother say right before she is shot?
“Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
1. What makes the story gothic?
2. What do we know about the setting?
3. How would you describe the old man?
4. What perplexed the narrator?
5. Why does the narrator kill the old man?
6. How many nights in a row does the narrator go into the old man’s room?
7. What happens on the night after?
8. Where does the narrator hide the body parts?
9. What makes the narrator confess his crime?
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe
Define the following words:
1. Catacombs
2. Virtuoso
3. Impunity
4. Fettered
5. Connoisseur
6. Gait
7. Precluded
8. Retribution
9. Afflicted
10. Explicit
Answer the following questions:
11. What is the meaning of the phrase “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser”?
12. Why did Montresor seek revenge on Furtonato?
13. How did Montresor know that the house would be empty?
14. Where had the stone and morter, used by Montresor to wall up the entrance to the niche, been hidden?
15. In your own words, describe the catacombs that Furtunato is led through.
16. Where and when is the story set? Give reasons for your answer.
17. Why does Montresor make sure Fortunato has drunk a lot of wine?
18. What is Luchresi’s role in the story?
19. What preparations had Montressor made for his revenge?
20. Why does Montresor appear concerned about Fortunato’s health?
21. Describe Fortunato’s character.
“Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
1. Connie has a habit of “craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” What does this tell you about Connie?
2. Describe Connie’s sister June.
3. What is the significance in Connie’s appearance, in that she looks “one way at home and another way when she was away from home”?
4. What are Arnold Friend’s first words to Connie and why might they be important?
5. What is Ellie’s role in the development of the story?
6. What is always in the background of the story?
7. What parallels lie between this story and the traditional fairy tale, “Little Red Riding Hood”?
8. In what ways is this story a commentary on American society?
“Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
1. Why is the main character’s family concerned about her?
2. What does Louise do when she hears her husband’s name is on the list of “killed”?
3. When the wild abandonment possesses Louise, what does she do?
4. What does Josephine believe Louise is doing behind her closed door?
5. What happens to Louise when she sees her husband?
6. How is the title significant?
7. Identify the various conflicts in the story.
8. Why might this story be considered a work of feminist literature?
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
Define the following vocabulary words:
1. Obliterate(d)
2. August
3. Perpetuity
4. Pallid
5. Vanquish(ed)
6. Vindicate(d)
7. Circumvent
8. Sibilant
Answer the following questions:
9. What is your impression of Miss Emily’s house?
10. How does Miss Emily treat her visitors?
11. Why were people glad to find out that all her father left Emily was the house?
12. How did the townspeople finally solve the problem with the smell?
13. Why do the people say, “Poor Emily”?
14. What does Miss Emily want the arsenic for?
15. Why is it, according to the townspeople, that Homer Barron would not marry Emily?
16. What do the townspeople believe happened to Homer?
17. How does Faulkner describe Miss Emily’s hair in part IV?
18. Describe the room upstairs that no one had seen in forty years.