AGENDA:
Think, Pair, Share and Post:
1. Discuss the importance of characterization in the story. What distinguishes the three men from each other?
Is there a protagonist in this story?
2. Why is setting important in the story? Is there anything ironic about the settings?
3. This is a "chilling" story (pun intended). How does Wolff control the tone of this story up until the ending?
Any similarities to Ozick's "The Shawl"?
Read Lorrie Moore's "How to become a Writer, or Have You Earned This Cliche"
http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/20/specials/moore-writer.html
Work on your short stories.
HMWK: Read Eudora Welty's "Where is the Voice Coming From?" pg. 481
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-murder-in-deep-summer
1. The story is told from an omniscient third person point of view, so the reader garners an equal understanding of all three of the men. Kenny is angry and upset, Tub is overweight and impatient and Frank is confused about his marriage and unhappy. All three men are written in a negative light, so the story is unique in that is has no real protagonist.
ReplyDelete2. The setting, the back woods of Washington State is very intimate, while also expansive, large and seemingly impossible. The back of the car is the second setting, and it comes when the urgency begins in the tone of the story.
3. The tone is controlled through expert syntax and careful language usage. It is beautifully written, a contrast to the ugly and gruesome outcome of the story and it's unanswered questions.
1. The story has no real protagonist as as each of the characters is given at least some time in the spot light. Each man has at least one major flaw that leads us as readers to dislike them and as such, we don't really root for any of the characters. Tub is fat and weak, Kenny is cruel, and Frank is confused.
ReplyDelete2. The setting of the story gives a sense of isolation and emptiness. If the story were to take place in a city or local town the urgency of Kenny being shot would be removed, he would be safe. But the danger in not getting help and being alone helps to advance the story.
3.The story is written with some beautiful prose and it makes in enjoyable to read. Even with the crude language and behaviors the characters, the author is able to control the tone through the writing.
Grace and Rashid
ReplyDelete1. Frank is unhappy with his marriage and thus having an affair, Tub is overweight and sensitive, and Kenny who is a bully and doesn't care. This use of characterization helps create distance between the characters and helps establish the function of the friendship.
2. The setting is in the woods of Spokane. The cold setting helps create a mood and reflect some of the characters. The second setting is the back of the truck, and this is important because it becomes the place where Kenny becomes less himself and more vulnerable as he is bleeding in the backseat.
3. There's a build up of suspense throughout the story and in the end it's each other that are posing the threat of their safety. Some of the language and setting resemble one another in The Shawl and Hunters in the Snow, and they differ on some of the plot context.
Reyenne and Amanda
ReplyDelete1. Frank is very unhappy with his marriage which leads to him having an affair. Tub is self conscious about himself being overweight and is sensitive about it. Kenny is a bully but doesn't care that he is one. All three characters are written in a certain kind of way that there isn't a real protagonist when the focus is on one of them.
2. The first setting of the story, The Spokane woods, creates a isolation vibe. The second setting which is the back of the truck when Kenny is shot. It is important because it shows that Kenny sort of loses a part of himself and shows vulnerability for him.
3. The story is written with suspense throughout the entire thing which makes it a little fun to read. The language is similar to the shawl but not exactly alike
1) The story is giving a better understanding of what exactly is going on. Kenny is very angry person and Tub being overweight and Frank being very confused about what is going on with his marriage that makes him unhappy. The men are being looked upon as negative.
ReplyDelete2)The setting of the story and the way that is being looked upon is more of an empty place that is going on about that.
3) The way that the story is more of a way of being more beautiful even if it talking about how the characters are looked at this negative part in it.
1. Discuss the importance of characterization in the story. What distinguishes the three men from each other?
ReplyDeleteIs there a protagonist in this story?
The story is told from third person pov. It’s so the reader can understand the perspectives from all the characters in the story. Kenny is furious. Tub is overweight. Frank is unhappy and sad about his relationship with his wife. Since all men are bad then there is no protagonist.
2. Why is setting important in the story? Is there anything ironic about the settings?
The setting of the story is very important because it creates and relates to the mood ad characters of the story.
3. This is a "chilling" story (pun intended). How does Wolff control the tone of this story up until the ending?
Any similarities to Ozick's "The Shawl"?
The story is intriguing to read because of the setting and characters. It creates a tone that is great with the main idea of the story.
Janelys, Jasmina, Jahde
ReplyDelete1. The three men are distinguish from each other as Kenny is an angry man, Tub is sensitive and overweight, and Frank who is not happy with his marriage and has an affair.
2. setting is important in the story because it's in the woods in Spokane being isolated.
3. Wolff uses specific diction in order to set the scene accordingly.
The narrator is an outsider (third person) looking in and so there is no protagonist. Kenny is an asshole and tries to demean them and make them feel stupid, especially Tub. He is the more dominant. Tub is a big guy and it’s harder for him to keep up with the others. He is sensitive and the weakest at first until he cant put up with it anymore. Frank is in the middle. He has a lot on his mind so he’s not being nice to tub but he knows kenny is wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe setting is very cold, dark and empty. They are in the woods at one point and all they have to rely on is each other so the setting creates a mood. When they are driving in the truck it is still really cold and it is ironic because they way they treat each other reflects on the climate.
Throughout the story there is suspense created like is kenny going to make it to the hospital before freezing to death? Will frank tell his wife about the affair? The language is written very carefully and then at the end it is blunt and simple
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ReplyDelete1. The story is being told in third person, so you can view each situation. Kenny is just very upset, while Tub is self conscience about himself being over weight, which also hints the name. And lastly Frank is confused about the status of his marriage and he's becoming unhappy about it. There is no protagonist because they are all getting looked down upon.
ReplyDelete2.The setting is important because it classifies who situation your viewing. It becomes ironic because they experience the feeling of being alone and not being helped.
3.The end of every situation is very suspenseful because you never know if their life is in danger or not.