Literature

Short Stories

Atwood

This is a very short, short story. Having said that, you know what to expect; some between-the-lines meaning.Atwood does not like to be too subtle, he is very much “in your face”. I hope you enjoy the story and will look to read more of her material.

Assignment- Part 1: Please read the short story at the following link:

Text-

Assignment- Part 2: Vocabulary

1)subjective-

2)stereotype-

3)biases-

4)diction-

5)passe’-

6)socio-economics-

7)intimidating-

8)ethnic-

9)indeterminate-

10)transcend-

11)puritanical-

12)epithet-

13)repressed-

14)condescending-

15)paternalistic-

Assignment-Part 3: Questions of “There Was Once”

1)The first objection from speaker 2 is to the use of the word “forest”. The speaker says it is “passe’” and “not the right image for our society today.” Immediately you should be able to focus on the imagery (what you see in your mind’s eye) and get a good idea about where speaker 1 and speaker 2 may be having this conversation. Where do you see it happening and be very descriptive in your explanation.

2)Another clue concerning imagery and setting comes from the 2nd speaker’s descriptions of what it means to be poor. What does speaker 2 say that tells you what the setting of where this conversation takes place may be?

3)Speaker 2 says that “description oppresses.” This is a very powerful statement. What do you think? Fully express your opinion and compare it to that of speaker 2.

4)Why do you think that speaker 2 believes that the color of a person’s skin is not descriptive or discriminatory? What do you think?

5)Given that speaker 2 has “had enough of white, Dominant culture”, what assumptions can be made about speaker 2? (There are many so really think about it)

6)Why do you suppose the word dominant is capitalized in the first part of the sentence and not in the second? “I’ve had enough of white, Dominant culture this, dominant culture that.” (Remember to look at diction and keep it in mind when you answer)

7)When speaker 2says “it would probably be your color wouldn’t it?” What can the reader assume about the two speakers?

8)In your opinion, why does speaker 2 think that to use the word “wicked” is a puritanical judgement?

9)Speaker 2 thinks that “good” and “wicked” are behaviors based upon conditioning. What does she mean and what do you think?

10)Why would speaker 2 think it is okay for a male to be wicked more so than a female? Again, we can make many assumptions; give me a few.

11)We are provided with at least two clues as to the gender of each speaker. A couple of examples are: “…this isn’t about me! This is about this girl-“, and “Hey just a minute! I’m a middle-aged-“, and “you can scratch the paternalistic terminology”. What genders do you see each speaker being and describe in detail what you think each looks like.

12)What do you think speaker 2 thinks about marriage? What gives you your opinion?

13)Ultimately the story cannot be told. Speaker 2 eliminates even the time of the story by saying “what’s this ‘was once’? Tell me about now.” She then moves onto the very first word of the story; “there”. She ends by saying “So, why not here?”

So…can a story be written that is not subjectively discriminating? Explain why or why not and be thorough.

Assignment- Part 4: Real Life

Copy and paste the lyrics to the following song and highlight the subjective words you see. After you have picked out ALL of the words you see as subjective explain why you believe they are and if they in any way are discriminating.

Give Him a Great Big Kiss-

After you have completed identifying the subjective words in this song, choose one of your own and do the same thing.