Some Questions about Our Readings in Fiction

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Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral"

1) You’ve no doubt noticed, right off the bat, Carver’s distinctive PROSE STYE. How would you describe it? Consider his diction (word choices), sentence length and structure, point of view, and tone of voice.  What effect do you suppose he’s after?  How might style reinforce what his story is ultimately about?

For an interesting look at very different prose styles, be sure you’ve read our “Samples of Prose Style” page at:

http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/pubweb/~cinichol/CreativeWriting/323/Style.htm

2) The story’s characters:

a. How would you describe the narrator and central character of "Cathedral"?  What kind of guy is he?  What does he value?  What does he fear?  How educated is he?  What’s his fundamental problem?  Explain and support your answers.

b. How would you describe the narrator's wife? Be specific and provide examples.

c. How would you describe Robert? Quote some passages which reveal the kind of person/character he is.

d. Each of the above characters is fascinating, surprising, interestingly flawed—especially the main character (the narrator).

How does a writer create a good character? As you work on your own stories (or if you feel you are primarily a fiction writer as opposed to a poet or dramatist), consider that a good character is:

a. COMPLEX—not fully understandable, three-dimensional, and in flux;

b. DISTINCT—you can tell the person apart from other characters (first-time fiction writers are often weak in this area; their characters tend to be generic and you really can’t tell one human being from another);

c. VIVID—brought to life through WELL-CHOSEN, SPECIFIC, SENSORY DETAILS, as well as distinctive dialogue and actions.) 

What ELSE, would you say, makes a good character in fiction?

3) What questions, established early on in "Cathedral," create the story’s narrative suspense?   What is it you want to find out? What keeps you reading? (If you don’t understand what a “narrative question” is, you need to watch our recent Power Point presentation in Blackboard.)

4) Are the narrative questions in "Cathedral" answered in the end?  (Again, for a discussion of what “narrative question” means, see our recent Power Point presentation.) What do you make of the story’s final scene(s)?  What’s happening, really?

5) What does Carver’s story—it’s prose style, themes, characters etc.—suggest for possibilities in YOUR OWN STORIES?

Tim O’Brien’s, “How to Tell a True War Story”

1) How would you describe the plot of this story? Remember that “plot” is the sequence or order of events. Is this story’s plot chronological or linear? Episodic? Circular? A montage? What plot devices is this writer using? Flashbacks? Framing? Multiple plots? False endings?

2) The title of this piece suggests that the story will ultimately explain or give instructions for telling a true war story. So—how does one tell a true war story? What are the particular difficulties, according to this narrator, in telling the events of war? What is this narrator saying about “truth” and how we understand it?

5) Do you happen to know anyone in Iraq or Afganistan (or anyone who has been on active duty there)? Do you know anyone who has been in any other war?

War fiction is a VERY old genre, going all the back to Homer’s Greek Iliad, as well as the old English poem, Beowulf. Consider your own experience as a soldier, as a friend or relation of someone who has gone to war, or even just as a citizen of a nation which is virtually always at war. Give those experiences, what “war story” might you write? What are some war story ideas?

6) What does O’Brien’s story—it’s plot structure, narrative voice, images, etc.—suggest for possibilities in YOUR OWN STORIES?

Dave Eggers’, “After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned”

Write a developed paragraph response to this story, drawing on anything and everything you’ve been learning from our course materials so far:

Charles Baxter’s, “The Cures for Love”

Virtually every successful literary artist writing today will tell you that READING—reading a lot and reading carefully—is the best way to become a good writer. I’ll add to that: it’s important to read AS A WRITER. That is, read as though you were writing the piece yourself, or at least looking over the writer’s shoulder. This will help you to notice the sometimes amazing and brilliant choices a writer has made. Simply studying a particular ADJECTIVE a writer chose in a particular spot, or a metaphor he added, or a bit of character description or action—all can alert you to the kinds of maneuvers and processes which good writers employ.

As you did for the Eggers story, write a good paragraph response to Baxter’s piece. This time, focus on how this story reads from a WRITER’S vantage point. That is, going through the story sentence-by-sentence, think about the choices the writer has made each step of the way. What choices, in each given instance, would YOU have made? Why do you suppose the writer made the choices HE made?



Final question: do you have any thoughts, observations, or questions after listening to or viewing any Blackboard audio-visual lectures on these stories?

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