Dusk
1.Why did Norman tend to believe
the young man’s story at first?
Because he had had a similar
experience in a foreign country.
He didn’t remember the
name of the hotel he was staying in.
2. What else made the man’s story
believable?
• The Berkshire Hotel had indeed been torn
down and replaced by a movie theater.
• Taxi drivers often advise their passengers
about hotels.
• Many people don’t like hotels’ soap bars.
• People usually leave their money in a safe
in their hotel.
3.a. In what kind of mood was Norman
when he met the young man? Why?
• “Norman was in the mood to put
himself among the defeated.”
( lines 13-14)
3b.
How did his mood affect his decision not to
believe the man’s story? Which thinking skill did
you use to answer this question
• Inferring
• At the beginning Norman didn’t believe the man because
he felt defeated.
• He was disappointed by life because he had been
betrayed by someone he had trusted. As a result he
doubted people’s honesty. He also felt he wasn’t very
good in assessing people’s character. He preferred to be
careful this time and suspect people’s intentions instead
of trusting them blindly, as he used to do in the past.
3b.
How did his mood affect his decision not to believe
the man’s story? Which thinking skill did you use
to answer this question
• Distinguishing Different Perspectives
• Norman’s perspective was that of a defeated, disappointed man. At
that point in his life, he was unable to trust people. His mood was
dark and gloomy, like the park at dusk. What he saw around him
was depressing too:
• People in shabby clothes hiding in the shadows. He thought that like
himself, they were disappointed by life. From the perspective of the
defeated Norman tended to mistrust the young man and doubt his
honesty.
• Norman’s decision was affected by his perspective at that point.
4.
How did the bar of soap change
Norman’ outlook on life?
• How did it make him trust people again?
• When Norman found the soap, he thought that
the young man had been telling the truth. He
was glad that he had met an honest man. He felt
he could believe in people again. His
perspective changed: he was hopeful and
optimistic. He looked at life from a different
angle; the values of truth and honesty do exist,
therefore, he was happy to help a man in need.
• How did it cause him not to trust people again?
• After giving the money to the young man, he
met the old man who was looking for his bar of
soap. At that moment Norman’s perspective
changed. He realized he had been conned. Now
he knew the truth. That knowledge caused him
to retreat to his former perspective- that of the
defeated and disappointed by life- a dark and
gloomy perspective.
How did it affect his belief in himself?
• when he found the soap?
• When he found the soap, he thought he
had misjudged the young man. He felt he
wasn’t good at assessing people’s
character . He felt guilty. His conscience
bothered him because he thought he
shouldn’t have suspected the young man.
• When he met the old man the second time?
• When he spoke to the old man again, he
realized he had assessed the young man
correctly at first. As a result, he was angry at
himself for falling into the trap set by the con
man. He concluded that he was a failure at
judging people’s characters.
Irony
• When a situation is the opposite of what
we would expect.
• Examples
• When a shoemakers’ children go barefoot.
• A fire station burns down
• A pilot who has a fear of heights
• A teacher who failed the test
Why is the story ironic?
• When Norman asked the young man to
show him the soap he had bought, the
young man said he must have lost it.
Norman rightly concluded that the man
was lying, so he didn’t give him any
money. When he found a bar of soap
under the bench, he ran after the man and
apologized for not believing him. This was
ironic situation because the soap didn’t
belong to the young man.
• At the end of the story, when Norman
found out that the soap belonged to the
old man, he realized that his first decision
not to believe the young man’s story had
been the right one. This is ironic because
what happened was the opposite of what
was expected. When he thought he had
misjudged the young man at first, he had,
in fact assessed him correctly.
Metaphor
• A comparison in which one thing is
described as if it were something else.
• For example:
• Life is a bowl of cherries
• the fire of love