“Trap of Gold” Questions
Please use your own paper to answer the following questions. Please make sure you are answering in complete sentences.
1. In “Trap of Gold”, there’s no dialogue, no confrontation between a hero and a villain. Does the story hold your attention anyway? Why?
2. Find the moments in the story when the writer makes you think Wetherton will fail in his quest. L’Amour said that writers, to heighten suspense, should refer to sights, sounds, and smells. What passages help you to feel Wetherton’s physical response to his ordeal?
3. Find at least three images that make the setting of the story-the tower of granite-seem like a human antagonist. Is the tower characterized as evil, as good, or as something else? Find details that support your answer.
4. Suppose Wetherton himself were telling the story. How would this change in point of view affect the impact of the story-particularly the elements of suspense?
5. On one level, the title refers to a real rock formation. What else is the “trap of gold”?
6. What breakthroughs take place in this story?
7. What do you find especially horrifying about Wetherton’s situation? What deep-seated human fears do you think are aroused by this particular setting?
8. What people in real life have taken extraordinary risks to get money? Tell how the “trap of gold” affected them. For help refer to your Quickwrite notes.
9. The story briefly mentions Wetherton’s wife and son, Laura and Tommy. Would you have been less sympathetic if the writer had let you assume that Wetherton wanted the money just for himself? Or do you think that the information about Wetherton’s family is corny and manipulative? Defend your opinion.
Trap of Gold” Questions
Please use your own paper to answer the following questions. Please make sure you are answering in complete sentences.
1. In “Trap of Gold”, there’s no dialogue, no confrontation between a hero and a villain. Does the story hold your attention anyway? Why?
2. Find the moments in the story when the writer makes you think Wetherton will fail in his quest. L’Amour said that writers, to heighten suspense, should refer to sights, sounds, and smells. What passages help you to feel Wetherton’s physical response to his ordeal?
3. Find at least three images that make the setting of the story-the tower of granite-seem like a human antagonist. Is the tower characterized as evil, as good, or as something else? Find details that support your answer.
4. Suppose Wetherton himself were telling the story. How would this change in point of view affect the impact of the story-particularly the elements of suspense?
5. On one level, the title refers to a real rock formation. What else is the “trap of gold”?
6. What breakthroughs take place in this story?
7. What do you find especially horrifying about Wetherton’s situation? What deep-seated human fears do you think are aroused by this particular setting?
8. What people in real life have taken extraordinary risks to get money? Tell how the “trap of gold” affected them. For help refer to your Quickwrite notes.
9. The story briefly mentions Wetherton’s wife and son, Laura and Tommy. Would you have been less sympathetic if the writer had let you assume that Wetherton wanted the money just for himself? Or do you think that the information about Wetherton’s family is corny and manipulative? Defend your opinion.