“Carnal Knowledge”
T. Coraghessan Boyle
Study Question and Seminar Facilitation By:
Alexis Gonzales and Nicole Daisa
The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they
suffer?" -Jeremy Bentham
Thomas John Boyle was born on December 2nd, 1948, in New York. When he
turned 17, he legally changed his middle name, and since he has used T.
Coraghessan Boyle for many of his works. Boyle earned his undergraduate at
the State University of New York at Potsdam. He attended the University of
Iowa’s Writers Workshop to earn his M.F.A. in 1974, and continued his
schooling there. He received his Ph.D. three years later. He has been a
member of the faculty at the University of Southern California since 1978,
and has written over 19 fiction books, plus short stories. He received several
literary awards, including the Commonwealth Gold Medal and the
PEN/Faulkner Award. He resides near Santa Barbara with his wife and three
little girls.
“Carnal Knowledge” is a story about a man, Jim, who is trapped in his
monotonous, dull life. One day, he meets Alena, a rebellious, carefree animal
rights activist. He falls for her immediately, and begins to join her on
protests. Eventually, she gets him to agree to something much more risky
than a protest: she wants to liberate turkeys from a turkey farm before
Thanksgiving. Alena takes him to her friend Rolfe’s house, who directs them
to the turkey farm. All three get out of the car, but only two return after the
release: Rolfe and Alena. They leave Jim there all night. When they return to
get him, Alena tells him that she and Rolfe are going to Yellowstone to save
bears. He comes to realize that maybe Alena doesn’t care for him as much as
he thought, and his dreams of being with her are crushed.
Terms:
Style: the distinctive manner in which a write arranges words to achieve
particular effects. This can include words choice, sentence length, and
structure.
Diction: a writer’s choice of words. This is one of the most important aspects
of writing as it control’s a readers reaction to the story.
Tone: the author’s attitude towards the people, places, and events in the
story.
Irony: a device that reveals reality differently than what is true. This includes
verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony.
Our seminar will focus on the tone, style, and diction of the story. We want to
hear your opinions about how the tone reveals the narrator’s character, and
what you think of Boyle’s use of language to convey the horrors of animal
cruelty. Please answer the First question thoughtfully and then two others of
your choice. Include quotes from the text when you can.
1. How does Jim’s tone change throughout the story? Focus on the
beginning when he is at the beach, after he meets Alena and begins
working with her, and after she leaves him at the turkey farm. How does
the tone reveal his character? How does he feel about himself? The way
his life is going?
2. How do the turkeys parallel Jim’s relationship with Anna? How do they
symbolize his feeling of freedom? What does their death symbolize? You
may want to think about the quote, “All there was between us had come
to this, expectations gone sour, a smear on the road” (280).
3. How does the author’s word choice sway your opinion on animal cruelty?
Does his word choice affect you or make you think a certain way? Include
quotes to support your answer.
4. Reflect on this quote: “Was it love? The term is something I’ve always had
difficulty with, but I suppose it was. Sure it was. Love, pure and simple. I
had it, it had me” (274). Does Jim sound sure about this? Does he really
love Alena or is he just caught up in the excitement of rebellion and
novelty? Does she love him?
5. Would the story have been different without Alf? In your opinion, does he
add comedy to the story and lighten the tone? How about Rolfe? What
does he add?
6. Identify the tone of the first paragraph. Is it humorous? Sarcastic? What
emotions does it evoke? Cite the text for examples.
7. Can you find an instance of irony in the story? Discuss how it affected the
story or scene.
8. In your opinion, why is the story called “Carnal Knowledge”? What
meanings does this phrase take on?