7.1–Reading Questions Fiction

Reading Questions Fiction

On “Everyday Use”

How do Dee’s experiences and education influence her attitude towards her family and heritage?

In what ways does Maggie demonstrate strength and resilience despite her shyness and self-consciousness?

What role do imagery and symbolism play in conveying the story’s themes? Provide examples.

On “Cathedral”

How does the narrator’s character evolve throughout the story? What key moments contribute to his transformation?

Discuss the symbolism in the story (feel free to choose the cathedral, or the blindness, or the “meal” with weed, whatever seems important to you). What does might the symbolism represent and how does it affect the characters?

How does Carver’s minimalist writing style impact the story’s delivery and its themes? What effect does this style have on the reader’s engagement with the characters and events?

On Sonny’s Blues

How do the characters in “Sonny’s Blues” cope with suffering?

How are the themes of escape and confinement explored in relation to the characters’ environment?

On Good Country People

Discuss the theme of deception in the story. How do the characters deceive each other and themselves?

How do Hulga’s atheism and Manley Pointer’s supposed Christian beliefs clash and interact throughout the narrative?

Discuss Hugle: What does Hulga’s change of name from Joy signify about her character? How about her wooden leg: what might be its significance?

How does “Good Country People” fit (or not) within the Southern Gothic tradition? (See our course text, Good Country People reading guide for information on Southern Gothic).