In the Garden of Stubborn Cats by Italo Calvino, P. 406

In the Garden of Stubborn Cats by Italo Calvino, P. 406

“In the Garden of Stubborn Cats”by Italo Calvino, p. 406

Look up definitions of any of the following words that you don’t already know: urban, mortal, void, environs, intrigue, rivalry, scrutinize, taut, impassive, sphinx, convergent, vibrant, luxurious, transfigure, rivet, egoist, miser, degenerate, confiscate, exploit, bewilder, elusive

Please review the literary terms below, then read the story and answer the questions.

The theme of a story is a central idea

Conflict: tension between opposing forces in a story.

A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things or concepts for the purpose of making a point. A metaphor differs from a simile in that it does not use the words like or as in the comparison. Metaphors are used extensively by writers of both fiction and non-fiction

Simile: a comparison using “like” or “as.”

The term irony is used to refer to situations or statements that turn out to be different than we would expect. For example, it is ironic when a manicurist bites her nails.

1. As it is used in the first paragraph on 407, distinction most likely means

  1. honor
  2. difference
  3. traffic
  4. architecture

2. The first paragraph serves primarily to illustrate

  1. the increasing hostility of the urban landscape to the cat population
  2. how the city is becoming more cat-friendly
  3. the hectic pace of city life
  4. recent improvements in the city’s architecture

3. The cats enable Marcovaldo to

  1. see the city from a different perspective
  2. goof off when he ought to be working
  3. fish for free lunch at the Biarritz
  4. meet interesting women

4. While Marcovaldo is interested in the restaurant’s ______, the cat is concerned with the _____.

  1. dining room . . . fish tank
  2. fish tank . . .dining room
  3. dining room . . . kitchen
  4. parking lot . . .dining room

5. Calvino writes on p. 410, “Enormous buildings rose all around, skyscrapers with thousands of windows, like so many eyes trained disapprovingly on that little square patch with two trees, a few tiles, and all those yellow leaves, surviving right in the middle of an area of great traffic.”

This passage serves to

  1. emphasize the author’s admiration for tall buildings
  2. illustrate the conflict between nature and urban growth
  3. celebrate the variety of the urban setting
  4. highlight the sloppiness of the garden

6. Calvino calls the garden the cats’ “secret island.” This is an example of

  1. simile
  2. metaphor
  3. magical realism
  4. irony

7. The neighbors’ argument represents conflicting attitudes toward

  1. cats
  2. mice
  3. developers
  4. noblewomen
  5. nature

8. Marcovaldo complains that the Marchesa has stolen his trout. Why is this ironic? Explain in a sentence or two.

9. At the end of the story, the point of view shifts from

  1. first person to third person
  2. third person to first person
  3. first person to second person
  4. third person to second person

10. The theme of this story can best be described as

  1. the selfishness of humans
  2. the problems of urbanization
  3. the elusive nature of reality
  4. the benefits of change

11. Explain in four to six complete sentences why the story is an example of magical realism. What aspects of the story are supernatural or fantastic? Include at least two specific examples from the text.

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