Language 9 Study Questions

To help to understand your stories better, I am leaving here some study questions that we will be working in class.



The night face up by Julio Cortazar:

1. What sensations and/or symptoms experience the motocyclist and the protagonist of dream sequences, moteca (the Indian)?

2. What are the links and similarities between the motocyclist and the moteca? Why were these—and not other—characters chosen to explore the given situation?

3. What is the relation in this narrative between the dreams and reality? Who is dreaming? Who is real?

4. How is this narrative structured? How does this structure accommodate the development of the story?

5. Does the epigraph relate to both planes of the story or only to the dream part?

6. What is this story about?

The boarding house by James Joyce:

1.  Discuss the manipulative nature of the women in this story.

2. What is Joyce’s attitude to marriage in this story?

3. Are Mr. Doran and Polly well suited?

4. What are the main themes in this story?

5. What is the relationship between mother and daughter?

6. How does religion figure in this story?