Go back to three of the 5 stories we have just read. For each story explore one re-reading

question, including one of the following topics. Be sure to consider different questions for each story. (15 course points)

1. Titling: Titles are very important for setting the tone and theme of these stories. Consider how the idea embedded in the title emerges in the story.

2. Telling the Story: Sometimes stories are told by someone in the story (first person) and sometimes by someone outside using the third person (though they may offer special insight into the thinking of one or more characters). Either way, there is a perspective which draws the reader's sympathy toward a particular character and that character's perspective. Consider how the author's choice of a "teller" influences what you see as important in the story.

3. Symbols. There are often "things" or places in a story which carry a great deal of meaning (perhaps even acting symbolically): for example, landscape pictures, jazz music, or a quilt or a southern town, a doctor's office, or a Canadian wilderness are all key to their stories (and there are others you might think of). Look at one of those.

Plot

• How do you now account for sections that seemed irrelevant or tangential on your first reading?
• Where do you see foreshadowing of the climax and resolution of the story? How effective are they?
• What conflicts do you see now? Any more or any different ones? Are they all resolved or are any left open? If open, then why?
• If there are any dislocations in order (e.g. of time or place) in the story, do you see any logic behind the arrangement?

Character

• How are the different characters defined--by words, actions (including thoughts and emotions), dress, setting, narrative point of view, etc?
• Are the characters revealed directly or indirectly?
• What purposes do any minor characters serve? Do any characters (especially minor characters) act as "foils" for each other, similar yet different in significant ways?
• If a character changes, why and how does he or she change? Or did your attitude toward a character change because you know him or her better?
• How does the author cause you to sympathize with certain characters?
• How does your response--sympathy or lack of sympathy--contribute to your judgment of the conflict and the "meaning" of the story?

Point of View

• How does the point of view help shape the story and its meaning?
• What in the narrator's language tells you what sort of person he/she is and what his/her strengths and limitations might be?

Setting

• Does setting play a major role in the story? What might that be? Could this same story have happened in another place and time?
• Is the setting a kind of character in the story? If so, how is it functioning?

Symbolism and style

• What additional dimensions of representation do you now see in certain characters, the setting, or the situation(s).
• How would you characterize the style of this story? Is it heavily shaped by a narrator?
• Does the style ever shift dramatically? If so, why?

Theme

• Are there any details, sentences, or repetitions that particularly embody a "theme" in the story?
• Does the story reinforce values that you hold; does it also challenge these values to any degree?