The Tell-tale Heart"
Faulkner, "A Rose For Emily"
Chopin, "The Storm"

Directions: You are required to answer only one of the main questions, which will appear in bold. This question is due no later than Thursday, Sept. 8. Following the bold questions will be other questions which you should read and think about--they may help you answer the main question. However, you are not required to answer these questions in writing.

Please answer the question as thoughtfully as possible, after reading the lecture. Then post your answer to the English 102 Message Board by the deadline.

Your responses to other students' answers are due by midnight on Sunday, Sept. 11. In order to get the full 20 points, you MUST respond thoughtfully to at least 3 other people's postings.

We will be using the Canvas Discussion Board for this class. Click on the link below to get to the Canvas portal, sign in, and then click on the tab for this class. You will find the "Discussions" link on the left side of the screen:

Discussion Board

Remember: This discussion question is worth a possible 20 points. Late answers will receive 0 points. Points will be assigned according to the thoughtfulness of your answer, not by whether it is "right" or not, since sometimes there is no "right" answer. Just be sure your ideas are supported by the material in the story (see Lecture 1).

"The Tell-tale Heart" Link

Poe was fascinated by the idea that someone could be perfectly rational and intelligent, and still be insane--or that he could be completely evil, and still be sane. Is the narrator sane? (*See Note below)

  1. To whom is the narrator speaking?
  2. What reason does the narrator give for killing the old man?
  3. What do the narrator and the old man have in common?
  4. Why is it the old man's eye that the narrator is obsessed with? (Hint: Remember that "eye" and "I" are pronounced the same way.)
  5. The narrator hears the old man's heart twice in the story. What does the beating heart represent?
  6. What, in your opinion, are the themes of the story? What examples and/or quotes from the story can you give to support your interpretation?
*Note: By the way, a popular misconception is that Poe was insane, and that stories like this are autobiographical, or at least drawn from Poe's firsthand knowledge of insanity. This is false. Poe's original biographer, Griswold, apparently had a grudge against him, and portrayed him as a drug-addicted, alcoholic, child-molesting lunatic. Poe was none of these things, as later research proved. But it's more fun to believe sensational stories, so the myth has hung on. Poe was poor, he had a miserable life, and his death is one of the great literary mysteries.

Poe was engaged to be married. He lived in Richmond, Virginia at the time, and the wedding was to be held in Providence, Rhode Island. So Poe got on the train in Richmond--and disappeared. For the next six days, no one could find him. By chance, one of his friends came upon him lying, sick and delirious, in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland. He had no money or possessions, and he was not wearing his own clothes. His friend took Poe to a hospital. During his periods of consciousness, he told his friend and anyone else who attended him that killers were hunting for him, and begged people to hide him, or at least help him shave his beard to disguise himself. He died a couple of days later, unable to tell anyone where he had been or what had happened to him.

The cause of his death is not known; Poe's symptoms are consistent with a brain tumor or brain injury, and a new theory claims he may have died of rabies.

"A Rose for Emily" Link

Some people think that Faulkner is writing, in this story, about social class; others think he is writing about the changes that take place as one way of life passes away and is replaced by another. Still others believe he is writing about small town social dynamics; and some think he is writing about the psychology of murder. What do you think?

  1. Briefly summarize the events of the story, putting them in chronological order.
  2. Why do you think Faulkner chose to jump around in time so much? Why not just tell the story chronologically?
  3. Do you think the people of the town knew what crime Emily had committed? Why or why not? If they did know, why wasn't she prosecuted?
  4. Why did Emily murder Homer?
  5. A theme which is common to all of Faulkner's stories and novels is time. What references to time are there in this story? What does Faulkner seem to be saying about time? About the way people experience time in their memories?
  6. What is Miss Emily's role in the town--that is, what does she represent to the people of the town?
  7. How have things changed in the town since Miss Emily was a girl? Are the changes good or bad?
  8. Who is the narrator?
  9. What, in your opinion, are the themes of the story? What examples and/or quotes from the story can you give to support your interpretation?

"The Storm" Link

Why is the setting so important in this story?

  1. What is the point of view? Why do you think Chopin chose to use this point of view? Why not, for example, tell the story in first person, from Calixta's point of view?
  2. Is Bobinot a good husband? A good father? What is Bobinot and Calixta's marriage like? Is it in any way similar to Alcee and Clarisse's?
  3. Why does Calixta sleep with Alcee? What does she experience with Alcee that she has never experienced with Bobinot?
  4. How does the storm help create this situation? How does it parallel Calixta and Alcee's lovemaking?
  5. How do you interpret Alcee's letter to his wife?
  6. How do you interpret the last line of the story? Do you think Chopin is saying, for instance, that what Calixta and Alcee did was acceptable, and will have no consequences? Or is this line meant to be sarcastic?