Chapter 1 questions

Aesop

Describe the different personalities of the North Wind and the Sun.

Both the North Wind and the Sun have aggressive personalities, so it seems. They are teasing the man, while being very persistent in attempt at removing his cloak.


What was ineffective about the North Wind’s method for attempting to strip the man of his cloak?

The North Wind’s method was ineffective because air, all he created was madness and the man was able to resist the wind’s “temptation”, so to speak. He was also trying to get the cloak off fast, instead of giving the man a chance to be persuaded.


Why was the Sun successful in his attempts? What did he do differently than the north wind?

The Sun was successful at his attempts because he knows how to get to the man by persuading him, in a way. The man’s instincts knew that when it is hot outside it means to remove heavy layering, but he wasn’t about to remove it if it wasn’t necessary. In other words, he needed a lot of persuading before he gave in.

What purpose does the human serve in his dispute?

The man doesn’t give into outside pressures of the world.


Explain the closing moral in terms of the fable.

The sun is an inanimate object and could represent hell. No one forces you to go to hell, and in a way you need to be persuaded. No, not everyone is dumb enough to be persuaded but no one really falls into being forced to go there, either.


Chuang Tzu

What part of the story is the exposition? How many sentences does Chuang Tzu use to set up the dramatic situation?

The part of the story that is the exposition is when he explains what the men are asking of Chuang Tzu and when he explains who these men are representing.

Why does the protagonist change the subject and mention the sacred tortoise? Why doesn’t he answer the requiest directly and immediately? Does it serve any purpose that Chuang Tzu makes the officials answer a question to which he knows the answer?

The protagonist changes the subject and mentions the tortoise to make them instantaneously understand why he does what he does and to also show the man why he refuses. This shows that he doesn’t want to explain himself on a deep level. He’s trying to get the people to see it from her perspective.


What does this story tell us about the protagonist Chuang Tzu’s personality?

The story tells us that Chuang Tzu is a straight to the point person because he knows how to make his point because he knows what he wants. He’s not afraid to express his feelings and opinions about things.



Updike

What details stand out for you as particularly true to life? What does this close attention to detail contribute to the story?

The details that stand out for me that are true to life are the little ones about referring the people in the supermarket to “sheep” and also his descriptions of the girls in bathing suits. People in the supermarkets are exactly like sheep, following the crowd- in a sense. When he mentions setting off dynamite when no one would even flinch is exactly what sheep would do. In the beginning where he mentions the cash-register-watcher kind of relates to the myth ‘someone is always watching you’. Close attention to detail in this story makes it easy to read and easy to follow. You can relate to it because everyone has been inside a supermarket and know how it is.


How fully does Updike draw the character of Sammy? What traits (admirable or otherwise) does Sammy show? Is he any less a hero for wanting the girls to notice his heroism? To what extent is he more thoroughly and fully portrayed than the doctor in “Godfather’s Death”?

Updike really doesn’t draw Sammy’s character that much. You kind of get a feeling that he is a soft spoken man that doesn’t get angry to often. He is an interesting man. I believe he is less of a hero for wanting the girls to notice his heroism. When you’re a hero you’re not supposed to flaunt it. Because the story is from his point of view you better understand where he’s coming from and what state of mind he is in. You get more of an understanding of his personality than the doctor in “Godfather’s Death”.


What part of the story seems to be the exposition? Of what value to the story is the carefully detailed portrait of Queenie, the leader of the three girls?

The part of the story that seems to be the exposition is when Sammy is introduced along with the description of A & P’s set up. The character of Queenie plays a huge role in the value of the story because it clarifies why he wanted to be a “hero” and stand up for her. Sammy placed Queenie at the very highest point in his mind.


As the story develops, do you detect any change in Sammy’s feelings toward the girls?

There are some changes in Sammy’s feelings toward the girls. For example, when he speaks of all the girls he seems to think oppositely of them in the end. Queenie, who is rude and ruled over the other girls, was the one he ended up liking. And, the bigger one who he noticed first soon wasn’t important to him. Sammy watches Queenie and comes to a conclusion that, because of the way she moved, the way she spoke, and where her money came from, she was very attractive indeed.

Where in “A and P” does the dramatic conflict become apparent? What moment in the story brings the crisis? What is the climax of the story?

In “A & P”, dramatic conflict comes from when Lengel gets into it with the girls while he’s trying to explain to them how to be decent in this store. The moment in the story that brings the crisis is when Lengel tells the girls that the supermarket isn’t a beach. The climax of the story is when Sammy tells Lengel that he quits.


Why, exactly, does Sammy quit his job?

Sammy quits his job because of how Lengel embarrassed the girls, and because he wanted to appear to be the “unsuspected hero”. The girls didn’t notice, however.


Does anything lead you to expect Sammy to make some gesture of sympathy for the three girls? What incident earlier in the story seems a foreshadowing?

Sammy has a soft heart. The fact that he was thinking that the meat department man was checking them out made him feel sorry for them.

What do you understand from the conclusion of the story? What does Sammy mean when he acknowledges “how hard the world was doing to be…hereafter”?

I understand from the conclusion of the story that Sammy went home lonely that night. He is now unemployed and didn’t get the reward he was probably expecting. With that statement, he probably was thinking of his parents because of what Lengel said, because he has no job, which means no money coming in.


What comment does Updike-through Sammy-make on supermarket society?

He makes a supermarket almost like a farm. It is filled with a bunch of sheep with a rude bitter “shepherd”. They’re just trying to get a point across with the girls’ immodesty.