English
Unit 1/Paper 1 Readings – Short answer questions
Directions: Write (type) your responses to the questions below. Create a new Word document, include a heading and a header. Here are the links to the readings
The story of an hour:
https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/
Against love:
Marriage trap:
https://slate.com/culture/2003/09/the-problem-with-monogamy.html
Short answer questions – “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
1. Why does Chopin introduce the reader to her protagonist as “Mrs. Mallard” rather than by her first name?
2. Describe the significance of her sudden recognition of self-assertion: “Free! Body and soul free!”
3. Chopin describes a broad range of emotions throughout the story. In the end, what do you think really killed Louisa?
4. When people say the story takes us “on an emotional journey” what do they mean? What message does Chopin wish to convey with this controversial work?
5. Look up the terms “Situational Irony” and “Verbal Irony.” How does Chopin use each of these in her story?
Short answer questions – “Against Love” by Laura Kipnis
1. Clearly Kipnis does not believe that love lasts. What examples does she use to support her view?
2. In what ways do your personal experiences and cultural experiences confirm, deny or make problematic her belief?
3. In what specific ways does Kipnis answer her own question: “But has modern love really set us free” (para. 7)? Describe how one can answer this question positively.
4. Comment on her statement “A life without love lacks an organizing narrative.” How might this apply to “The Story of an Hour”?
5. What might Kipnis say in writing a review of Chopin’s story?
Short answer questions – “The Marriage Trap” by Megan O’Rourke
1. O’Rourke seems to agree with Kipnis that we are socialized to think of marriage as “the proper goal of a well-lived life” (Para. 9). In what specific ways is this true from your personal and cultural experience?
2. In what ways does O’Rourke support marriage? What objections does she have to Kipnis’s idea of working at a relationship?
3. What are some objections O’Rourke has to Kipnis’s essay?
4. What advice do you think O’Rourke would have given Mrs. Mallard if she went to her as a friend seeking a solution to an unhappy marriage?
