Worksheet for Breaking and Entering
Group members (PRINT full names):____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Elect a “secretary” who will record summaries of the group’s discussion of the
items below or do any other necessary writing. The secretary should type
directly on this sheet, re-saving it as a Word file with a new title. PLEASE USE
A FONT STYLE AND COLOR DISTINCT FROM THE QUESTIONS.
Then respond to your group’s choice of 6 questions from the list below. Try to
select a mix of questions calling for shorter and longer responses. Note: the
length instructions are approximate.
Question #1 is mandatory (don’t count it among the 6).
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When finished, the secretary should send a copy of the completed sheet to each
group member for posting to their personal threads. Members can make any
minor modifications they deem necessary.
As always, allow your discussion to prompt ideas for your Book of Notions,
including possible essays topics. And feel free to disagree with your group
members!
1. Mandatory--brief paragraph for each member:
Go around your group and have each member informally discuss the motif
they examined as they read the novel this week. What motif did each person
select? Where/how does that motif appear in the book? What, so far, seems to
be the significance of that motif to the development of the characters and/or
the novel’s primary themes and concerns? Allow yourselves to ask questions
and to explore multiple possibilities. Your responses here do not have to be
certain or final.
2. At least 1 well-developed paragraph:
How would you describe the prose style, tone of voice, world view and/or
general tact or approach in this novel? If we’ve discussed this in class already,
ADD to the discussion. Find a couple passages which support your description
and explain your choices. Suggestion: it might be helpful to look up some or
all of the following in a good literary dictionary, encyclopedia, or trustworthy
web site:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Hyperbole
Irony
Postmodern fiction
Absurdist literature
Existential literature
Black humor
3. Brief paragraph:
What's the book about? Whose story is it, and what are we reading to find out?
What is the narrative question? Support your response.
4. Two well-developed paragraphs:
Find 5 references to “arrested growth” anywhere in the novel. Significance to
the development of the characters? To the novel’s themes overall?
5. At least 1 well-developed paragraph:
How might Liberty's experience in the planetarium, p. 196, be symbolic, and
how does that symbolism matter to the story overall? Connections to Foxfire?
6. 2-3 well-developed paragraphs:
How does Chap. 5 illuminate the kind of lives Willie and Liberty lead, their
relationship to each other, and their relationship to the world? Consider some
or all of the following:
a. pp. 196-197: Liberty’s discomfort in the planetarium.
b. p. 204: the conversation between Willie and Liberty.
c. p. 200, p. 203, p. 205, and pp. 206-207: the visible and the invisible
worlds, the “real life” and the other one; giving one’s self away; thievery;
love; freedom; falling.
d. p. 206: Willie’s comments, “this circular stuff” and “We can’t just let
things happen.”
e. p. 211: language and lying.
f. p. 213: the hospital room and walls; also references to inner and outer.
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g. End of p. 216, top of 217: Liberty’s thoughts.
7. Brief paragraph:
What do you know about teen suicides? Relevance to this novel?
8. 1-2 paragraphs:
What do you make of Poe's comments, p. 189, regarding loneliness and duty?
How are they significant? How might they link to the one or more of the
novel’s primary themes or concerns? To the development of the characters?
9. 1-2 paragraphs:
Are Miss Tweedie’s observations, p. 214, accurate? What view of the medical
profession is depicted on p. 214-215? How does such a view fit the novel’s
vision overall of contemporary life?
10. At least 1 well-developed paragraph:
What does Poe mean, pp. 218-219, "It happened a long time ago, but that was
when you entered your life, dear" and “You think your life is more than just
the story of it?” How are these passages significant?
11. Brief paragraph:
What, according to Poe, is Willie's purpose for Liberty? See p. 219.
Significance?
12. At least 1 well-developed paragraph:
What’s the significance, later in this story, of entangled birds?
13. 1-2 paragraphs:
What’s the significance, in Chap. 6, of the several references to “crossing”?
Where else are "crossings" referenced or actually enacted? Find at least 2 and
discuss.
14. At least 1 well-developed paragraph:
What happens at the end of this story? How, if at all, has the narrative
question been answered? What, if anything, is resolved? Support your
response.
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15. 1-2 paragraphs:
How are Breaking and Entering and Foxfire different in terms of theme and
ultimate subject matter? How are they alike? Provide some good, illustrative
examples and discuss the significance of your comparison.
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