English Literature & Composition - PopulationMe.com

Chapter 5: Introduction to Short Fiction
conditions" Gig pregnant, "Jane" with postpartum depression, and Louise with her
"heart condition"), or men controlling women (obvious), or women who do or do not
fight back Gig, from the 20s; the other two, Victorian ladies, either go mad or die of
despair). From these jotted thoughts, you can have the class devise a common essay
topic, or elect to go in individual directions, using these parallels as springboards.
5. The pattern in Cisneros's "Woman Hollering Creek" (p. 246) is drearily familiar:
Romanticize marriage, thanks to soap operas and other media versions of unreality;
marry young, and experience the first of many beatings despite saying you would leave
if your man ever hit you. But Cisneros breaks the pattern in several ways. In discussing
this story with students, ask them how she breaks the pattern both in terms of plot
(Cleofilas escapes her marriage with the help of a woman who dares to holler) and
structure (using poetic, beautiful language in telling a tale fraught with pain; offering
one-sided conversations; shifting time and perspective-although most of the thoughts
that we are privy to are Cleofilas's). In the comments from Cisneros included with these
selections, the author sounds like Toni Morrison in asserting, 1/ 'I'm trying to write the
stories that haven't been written. I feel like a cartographer; I'm determined to fill a
literary void' 11 (255). Consider writing this comment on the board before beginning a
discussion of the story; return to it and ask students to apply the comment to this
particular text. A writing assignment might have students explore what "literary void"
most needs filling these days, and which writer best fills it.
Below you will see the first of several sets of multiple choice questions that we have developed
in Chapters Four, Five, and Six for selected short stories, poems, and plays. In contrast to
the ones on the actual AP Literature exam, the purpose of these is primarily pedagogical. They
are intended to help students comprehend the specific literary work at hand. That makes them
different from the actual multiple choice questions on the exam.
In each set you will see that we have double-starred (**) the correct answer. In a few cases
we have marked with a single star (*) the"distracter"-an answer that sounds tempting but is
not as wholly satisfactory as the one with the double stars.
Multiple Choice Questions for Hemingway's #Hills Like White Elephants"
(Literature pp. 563-566)
1. The opening description of the scenery serves primarily to
a. appeal to potential tourists and travelers.
b. appeal to readers' love of vivid sensory detail.
c. introduce the story's setting.*
d. suggest a symbolic reading of the story-showing two contrasting attitudes to life. **
e. hint at the hot climate.
2. The eleven lines of dialogue starting at "It's pretty hot" and ending at "No, you
wouldn't have" most likely are meant to
a. introduce readers to Spanish vocabulary.
b. suggest the waitress's deep interest in her two customers.
c. suggest some tension between the American and the girl.**
d. show the girl's fascination with the countryside. *
e. suggest the girl's familiarity with exotic animals.
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