Short Story
Unit
Plot
Homework
Packet
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Study Guide for “The Most Dangerous Game” (1924)
I. VOCABULARY: Be able to define the following words and understand them when
they appear in the story and class discussions.
palpable_________________________________________________________________
amenity___________________________________________________________
condone___________________________________________________________
naïve___________________________________________________________________
scruple__________________________________________________________________
futile___________________________________________________________________
cosmopolite______________________________________________________________
debacle_________________________________________________________________
gargoyle_________________________________________________________________
zealous__________________________________________________________________
affable__________________________________________________________________
tangible_________________________________________________________________
quarry__________________________________________________________________
II. LITERARY TERMS: Please note the literary elements AS THEY APPEAR IN
THE STORY (do not just define them.
Exposition: _____________________________________________________________
Rising Action:____________________________________________________________
Climax:_________________________________________________________________
Falling Action:___________________________________________________________
Resolution: _____________________________________________________________
Crisis: _____________________________________________________________
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Identify the conflicts in the story:
Provide an example of human vs. human
_____________________________________ vs. _______________________________
Explain: ________________________________________________________________
Provide an example of human vs. nature
_____________________________________ vs. _______________________________
Explain: ________________________________________________________________
Provide another example of human vs. nature
_____________________________________ vs. _______________________________
Explain: ________________________________________________________________
Provide an example of human vs. self
_____________________________________ vs. _______________________________
Explain: ________________________________________________________________
Provide an example of human vs. fate
_____________________________________ vs. _______________________________
Explain: ________________________________________________________________
Who is the protagonist in the story? _____________________________________
Who is the antagonist? _____________________________________________________
What is a metaphor? _______________________________________________________
Provide a metaphor from the story (direct quote):________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What is a simile? _______________________________________________________
Provide a simile from the story (direct quote):________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What is a motif? __________________________________________________________
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Explain one motif in the story:_______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What is mood? ___________________________________________________________
Describe the mood of the story:______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Who is the narrator? From what point of view is the story told?
________________________________
Identify the abstract noun most at work in the story: ______________________________
What about that abstract noun? In other words what is the author’s message about that
abstract noun? (theme) _____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Identify suspense in the story. Why is it suspense?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Identify irony in the story. Why is it ironic?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Identify foreshadowing in the story. Why is it foreshadowing?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
III. QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions.
1. What is meant by “He lived a year in a minute”?
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2. What is meant by “I am still a beast at bay”?
3. In which sea has Connell set Ship-Trap island?
4. How is Zaroff able to finance his life style?
5. If Rainsford wins the hunt, what does Zaroff promise him?
6. What happened to Lazarus?
7. Where does Rainsford spend the first night of his hunt?
8. How many acres did Zaroff’s father have in the Crimea?
9. Why does Zarroff suggest Rainsford wear moccasins?
10. What caused Rainsford to believe Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree? Do you
think he was right? Give reasons.
11. How does Zaroff stock his island with “game”?
12. What happened to General Zaroff at the end of the story?
13. In spite of being hurt, Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his “Malay mancatcher,”
why?
14. How do we know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man?
15. Explains what happens at the end of the story
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“The Necklace” (1884)
By Guy de Maupassant
Answer the following questions with a minimum of five sentences. Please pay attention
to grammar, spelling, tense, and taboo.
1. Question: Did you like the ending?
2. What ending did you want to see?
3. How would a different ending change the author's message?
4. Using the Blank Plot Arc, behind this page, chart the entire narrative.
5. Using the attached form, complete the Say/Mean/Matter assigned for your period.
(You can cut and paste the quote, make sure you use a TLQ). Don't forget to identify the
abstract noun (theme) most at work in this quote.
Period 2: "She suffered intensely, feeling herself born for every delicacy and every
luxury. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the worn walls, the abraded
chairs, the ugliness of the stuffs. All these things, which another woman of her caste
would not even have noticed, tortured her and made her indignant"
Period 4: "She was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in
a family of employees. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known,
understood, loved, married by a man rich and distinguished."
Period 5: "Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine were false. At most they were worth five
hundred francs!"
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EXPOSITION
RISING ACTION
CLIMAX
DENOUEMENT OR RESOLUTION
FALLING ACTION
Plot Structure Components
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Say
Page Number(s): __(______)__
Author_____________________
Quote
TLQ:
This means that….
Mean
Matter
This matters because….
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10
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1939)
By James Thurber
1.
The plot of Walter Mitty moves between two worlds; what are those two worlds?
2.
How does the author use a non-traditional time sequence to move between these
two worlds? Explain with evidence.
3.
What effect does this type of order have on your understanding of the character?
4.
What is the central conflict in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"?
5.
Is "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" ultimately a funny or tragic story? Explain
your answer
6.
Consider the way the plot is built and the way the characters respond to Walter.
What might the author be saying about the nature of dreams and the dreamer?
7.
Identify the abstract noun most at work in the story.
8.
What about that abstract noun? In other words what is the author’s message about
that abstract noun? (theme)
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9.
How did you arrive at this theme?
10.
Using the attached form, complete the Say/Mean/Matter assigned for your
period. (You can cut and paste the quote, make sure you use a TLQ). Don't
forget to identify the abstract noun (theme) most at work in this quote.
Period 2: "You're tensed up again," said Mrs. Mitty. "It's one of your days.I wish you'd
let Dr. Renshaw look you over."
Period 4: "Since then Mrs. Mitty always made him drive to a garage to have the chains
taken off. The next time, he thought, I'll wear my right arm in a sling; they won't grin at
me then. I'll have my right arm in a sling and they'll see I couldn't possibly take the
chains off myself. He kicked at the slush on the sidewalk."
Period 5: "Then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing
squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated,
inscrutable to the last."
Say
TLQ:
Mean
This means that….
Matter
This matters because….
Quote
Page Number(s): __(______)__
Author_____________________
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“Popular Mechanics” (1989)
by Raymond Carver
Once you complete that very short but powerful read, please write down all denotations
for the words "Mechanics” and “Popular”
Mechanics
Popular
Reflect on the nature of the relationship in this story between the man and the woman.
Now that you understand these two words, synthesize them as they relate to this couple.
What message might the title suggest about modern romantic unions?
This story is full of symbolism. Please select ONE of the many symbols within this story
and relate what it might suggest about this relationship.
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