SMCC ENGL 115 Intro to Lit
Ann Boyce, Associate Professor Sp14
Study Questions: Short Stories
Please TYPE answers to the following with required heading. Answer the question, and then
provide reasons for your answer. You’ll need 2-3 sentences per question to receive full credit.
Quoting and citing in support is good. Staple multiple pages.
PLEASE:
 There is no hidden moral or message to each story. Authors try to share insight into life, not
hammer home an obvious life lesson.
 Refer to authors by their last names. It’s Updike, not John.
 The writer is not the speaker. We are reading fiction, not non-fiction or autobiography.
 Use quotations marks for titles: “The Lottery,” not The Lottery.
 “A&P” Note: A&P is a grocery chain like Hannaford or Shaws.
1. In what ways is Sammy a typical 19 year old man? How does he differ?
2. Quote and cite the last sentence of the story. Now discuss why he says life will be tough for
him. Note: It’s probably not about his parents’ reaction or difficulty in getting another job.
 “The Story of an Hour”
1. What does the placement of Louise Mallard`s chair tell you about her life?
2. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something the characters don’t. What do the
doctors assume causes Mrs. Mallard`s heart attack and what do we know as the real cause?
 “The Yellow Wallpaper”
1. What’s the treatment Jane’s husband John prescribes for her postpartum depression, and is it
effective?
2. Who does Jane become at the end of the story?
 “A Worn Path”
1. Discuss at least three obstacles Phoenix faces on her trip to town.
2. Is this a story of victory or defeat? Why?
 “Battle Royal”
1. Provide a plot summary (what happens, not what it means) of 5-6 sentences of the key events
in this story.
2. Why do the men attending the meeting make the fighters watch the stripper?

“Hills Like White Elephants” Note: When this story was written, pregnant women
routinely drank and smoked.
1. The characters never name the “awfully simple operation” they’re discussing. What is the
operation, and how do they each see it? (No, he’s not talking her into a breast implants!).
2. What do you believe she decides at the end? Give reasons.
 “The Lottery”
1. If you haven’t read this story before, at what point did you catch on as to what was
happening? If you have, what is the first clue you noticed?
2. If we assume this story is not to be read literally, i.e., that people in a 20th century New
England village actually did what they do here, what does this story suggest about one aspect
of human nature?

“The Cask of the Amontillado” Note: Poe is credited with being the creator of the modern
horror story; Stephen King owes a large debt to Poe and surely knows it.
1. What happens to Fortunato at the end?
2. Discuss one time when (a) Montresor uses dramatic irony on Fortunato and (b) when
Fortunato uses irony with Montresor.
 “The Use of Force” (handout)
1. Quote and cite what the doctor says about his feelings while he overpowers the little girl to
see into her throat.
2. Is this pleasure in the use of force acceptable? Why/why not? Note: I’m not asking whether
the use of force itself is justified.
 “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
1. Referring to the quotation from St. Cyril at the beginning of the story, in the story who may
be the dragon that bars the way to heaven? Give reasons.
2. Look up, quote, and cite the definition of “evil.” Does "The Misfit" see himself as evil? Is he?
3. How are the doctor in “The Use of Force” and The Misfit alike?
 “The Things They Carried”
1. As the OIC, Jimmy Cross feels responsible. What steps could he have taken that might have
prevented what happened to Lavender?
2. How are Jimmy Cross and Sammy (“A&P”) alike? How do they differ?
 “Cathedral”
1. How does the narrator react to the blind man at the beginning of the story?
2. Carver writes about ordinary people in ordinary situations where something changes. What
changes for the narrator?

“Two Kinds”
Note: The character’s name is Jing Mei, not Ni Kan. “Ni kan” means
“You watch” or “Pay attention” in Mandarin.
1. The story’s title is “Two Kinds.” Name and discuss at least three examples of “two kinds” in
the story. Note: There is no one right answer.
2. At the end has Jing-Mei’s mother forgiven her daughter? Has Jing Mei forgiven herself?
 “Everyday Use”
1. Defend Dee’s actions. Remember: We have only Mama’s view of Dee.
2. What is Mama’s view of Maggie at the beginning of the story? At the end?
 “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven”
1. Describe the narrator, providing support for your answer from the story.
2. Is he a static or dynamic character? Provide reasons.