More Literary Fiction (The New and the Old)

Friday we began our exploration of literary fiction with Dagoberto Gilb's "Love in LA."  Here is a link to that story:  http://www.lachsa.net/ourpages/auto/2016/1/4/67385447/love%20in%20LA%20_1_.pdf

For Monday, we will return to our anthology, reading Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible" and Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace."  "The Red Convertible" is a relatively new story, and "The Necklace" is a classic from the 1800s.

Let's start with some questions about "Love in LA."

Discuss the conflict between Jake and Mariana.

Discuss Jake as an antihero or trickster.  Compare him to Coyote.  Did you root for either character?

In your opinion, how does Dagoberto Gilb expect us to respond to Jake?  Or to Mariana, for that matter?  If you feel differently, why is that?

Discuss the role that language plays in "Love in LA."  We went over the first sentence in the story.  Choose a sentence that may be a little difficult or that is fancy.  How does this sentence further the story?  How does the sentence help you the reader?

Discuss the role that setting plays in "Love in LA."

Why is the story titled "Love in LA"?  What does the title mean?

What is the theme of the story?  Is it love, man vs. woman, the adventures of a trickster, or something else?  Why?

How does the third person narration affect "Love in LA"?

How does our not knowing what Jake looks like or where he comes from affect our understanding of him, our response to him, or our understanding of the story?

How does our not knowing what Mariana is thinking affect our understanding of her, our response to her, or our understanding of the story, especially the ending?

Discuss your response to the story's ending.

How does your knowledge of an author's biography help or hinder you?  How does your knowledge of Gilb's background and biography help or hinder your reading of "Love in LA"?  For more information about his biography, see the links below:
http://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/a-z/gilb.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagoberto_Gilb

Let's move on to "The Red Convertible" and "The Necklace."

-- "The Red Convertible" is narrated in the first person.  Discuss the impact of this factor.  What parts of the story are we privy to?  What are we not privy to?

-- Discuss Lyman as a narrator.  Is he a naive narrator?  Is he reliable or unreliable?  Why?  Why not?

-- How is Henry affected by the Vietnam War?

-- Compare Erdrich's depiction of a veteran harmed by war with Wilson's depiction.  How does each shed light on the other?

-- Is Lyman a good brother?  Why?  Why not?

-- Compare Lyman and Troy as men who take care of their wounded brother.

-- Discuss the ending of "The Necklace."

-- Consider the role that character, plot, narration, setting, or symbolism play in "The Necklace."

-- Do you feel that the characters in "The Necklace" are round or flat?