FICTION EXAM: Study
Quick list of our stories (abbreviated, w/o proper punctuation):
· Muddy Road· Carpathia
· Aesop's fables
o (Vixen & Lioness, Ant & Grasshopper)
· Appointment in Samarra
· Parable of Prodigal Son
· Chopin: Desiree's Baby, Storm, Hour
· A&P / · Chrysanthemums
· Good Man Is Hard to Find
· Things Carried
· WRUG...?
· Cask of Amont.
· Hunters in Snow
· Worn Path
· Walter Mitty
Elements of Fiction:
· symbolism
· setting
· structure
· irony
· fable & parable
· characterization
· conflict
· theme
· unity of effect
Points to Ponder:
· defining the Elements of Fiction
· applying Element of Fiction to a specific story
o symbolism in "The Lottery"
o irony
§ verbal irony in Poe
§ dramatic irony & irony of situation in Hour
· Chopin's style (we read 4 stories)
· critical interpretations of "Where Are You Going...?"
o historical
o Arnold as Satan
· stories with structures that were different, unique, non-linear
o Things
o Rose
· discussing the characterization of a character in a story (description, methods of developing that character)
o EDU (Mama, Maggie, Dee)
o Mitty
o Worn Path (Phoenix Jackson)
· how would the story change if the point-of-view changed (think of stories in which POV was quite important)
o A&P
o Hour
· similarly, the setting has been quite central/crucial to certain stories, almost like a character itself
o Hunters
o Cask
o Lottery
· Poe's concept of "unity of effect" -- applied to a certain story
o Cask
o Lottery
· the conflicts in a certain story (the different types of conflict & how they're evident in the story)
o man vs. man, nature, self, society, technology, fate, supernatural
§ Vixen
§ Things
§ Cask
§ A&P
§ GMH2F
§ EDU
§ Chrysanthemums
· could you define a fable or parable & discuss how one we've read illustrates that definition
o Aesop's fables (Vixen & Lioness, Ant & Grasshopper)
o Appointment in Samarra
o Parable of Prodigal Son
o WRUG as Rock N Roll fable
· certain themes kept coming up across the stories (making connections between stories)
o racism in Southern stories
§ Rose
§ GMH2F
§ Worn Path
§ Desiree's Baby
o we've talked about "identity" in a few stories (how it's formed)
§ through objects, genealogy, mottos, ....
§ EDU
§ GMH2F
§ A&P
§ Desiree's Baby
§ Cask
§ Things
§ WRUG
§ Worn Path
o progress? civilization? (are we better off)
§ Rose
§ Chrysanthemums
§ Everyday Use
o characters trapped (symbolically, physically)
§ Antigone
§ Cask
§ A&P
§ Rose
§ Chrysanthemums
§ Hour
o portrayal of marriage
§ Rose
§ Chrysanthemums
§ Hour
§ EDU
§ Carpathia
o family as a negative thing (home is where the heartbreak is)
§ Rose
§ Chrysanthemums
§ Hour
§ WRUG
§ A&P
§ Lottery
§ Cask
§ GMH2F
o corruption of youth
§ lottery
§ WRUG
§ Rose
o appearances vs. reality (or, fantasy vs. reality)
§ Things
§ Walter Mitty
§ GMH2F
§ A&P
§ WRUG
§ EDU
o human nature as "bad" (OR, in violentia veritas - truth comes out in stress))
§ Rose
§ Chrysanthemums
§ Hour
§ WRUG
§ A&P
§ Lottery
§ Cask
§ GMH2F
§ Hunters
o burdens we carry
§ Things
§ Chrysanthemums
§ GMH2F
§ Storm
§ Worn Path
§ Muddy Road
o Lottery & traditions
§ pick a tradition that's outdated & why you'd get rid of it
o lack of self-knowledge (self-destruction might be a similar theme)
§ WRUG
§ EDU
§ Hunters
§ GMH2F
§ A&P
§ Cask
o grotesque in Rose
§ what is "grotesque" & how is it in the story
o