A WORLD OF PROSE FOR CSEC – Essay Questions

Julie Tagg

1. The stories “Blood Brothers” and “The Day the World Almost Came to an End” address the issue of fear. Write an essay in which you describe the situation that gives rise to the fear that the main characters experience in EACH story. In addition, discuss the impact of the fear experienced and examine how the writers’ point of view is used in EACH story to present the theme of fear.
2. “To Dah – Duh in Memoriam” and “The Day the World Almost Came to an End” addresses the theme of childhood and childhood experiences. Write an essay in which you describe the experiences that these children face. In addition, you must compare the ways in which each child copes with his or her experiences as a child.
3. Dory’s friendship with Maria differs from the friendship that Berry has with the children in the home. With close reference to the short stories “Emma” and “Berry,” discuss the theme of friendship and say how these friendships impact the main characters in the stories.
4. The short stories “Berry” and “The Man of the House” looks at the theme of responsibility in different ways. Based on your reading of these two stories, discuss the theme of responsibility and state the ways in which each main character shows responsibility towards individual duties.
5. The conflict in a story creates and moves the plot forward. External conflicts will arise when the MAIN characters face challenges in the external world.
6. Describe the external conflicts that exists in “Mom Luby and the Social Worker” and “Berry.”
7. Citing examples from EACH story, discuss the characters response to the conflict.
8. The innocence of a child and the childhood experiences shape the thoughts and actions of the child character in a short story. With close reference to the short stories “The Man of the House” and “The Day the World Almost came to an End,”
9. Describe the experiences of the main characters in each short story.
10. Discuss how the characters childlike innocence changes with these experiences.
11. Discuss one literary technique that is used in each story.
12. Individuals and their actions are often shaped by their experiences that relate to parental love or the lack of parental love. The short stories “Emma” and “Mom Luby and the Social Worker” reflect the theme of parental love or the lack of parental love. Based on your reading of these short stories:
13. Describe the instances where the characters must act as parents who show love or the lack of love.
14. Discuss the reactions of the children as they relate to the love that they experience from their “parents.”
15. Assess the use of irony in each short story to shape the events that reflect parental love or the lack of parental love.
16. Survival depends largely on the attitude of the individual towards the circumstances that impact their survival. The short stories “Berry” and “Mom Luby and the Social Worker” present poverty as an obstacle to survival for the main characters. With close reference to these two short stories:
17. Show how the writers present the instances of poverty for the MAIN characters and the attitude of the MAIN characters to poverty.
18. Discuss the ways that the MAIN characters survive despite the poverty that they face.
19. Assess the use of juxtaposition in presenting the theme.
20. “The Two Grandmothers” and “Blood Brothers” present the theme of family and family relationships in different ways. Based on your reading of each short story, assess the family relationships that exist in the two short stories. In addition, explain the effect of irony in both stories. 
21. The short stories “Berry” and “Mom Luby and the Social Worker” present the theme of struggles and hardships. – Explain the events that lead to the struggles of the main characters.  Discuss how the TWO main characters cope with the struggles that they face. Assess the setting of EACH story and say how the setting influences the plot.
22. Traditions and culture play an integral role to the development of the characters in “To Dah Duh in Memoriam” and “The Two Grandmothers.” With close reference to the two short stories, compare the ways that traditions and culture impact the TWO main characters. In addition, you must explain the use of juxtaposition in EACH story.
23. The short stories “Blood Brothers” and “The Man of the House” present the theme of masculinity. Based on your reading of these short stories, assess the theme of masculinity and the use of the narrative point of view to bring across this theme.
24. Jealousy tends to create negative repercussions for the individuals who experience this emotion. With close reference to the short stories “Emma” and “Blood Brothers,” assess the theme of jealousy and further explain the impact of jealousy on TWO of the characters in these short stories.

GENERIC TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Minor characters are as vital to the development of the plot of a story as the major characters. Select one minor character from TWO of the short stories on the prescribed list and explain the contribution of these minor character to the development of the theme of traditions and culture.
2. The society tends to influence the freedom of an individual. Write an essay that describes the freedom of lack of freedom that the MAIN characters encounter in the short story. In this essay, you must show how each MAIN character reflect the theme of freedom or the lack of freedom using historical allusion as a literary device.
3. Choose TWO short stories that you have studied from the prescribed lists which focus on the theme of racial discrimination. Write an essay in which you outline EACH of the main characters experience with racial discrimination. In this essay, you must discuss the attitude of the main character to the challenges of racial discrimination on his or her goals or dreams and examine one literary device that the writer uses to explore the theme of racial discrimination. In addition, you must identify and discuss the use of one literary device that features prominently in these short stories.
4. There are different types of love that humans show and experience. Based on the prescribed list of short stories, select TWO stories that address the theme of love. Discuss the instances of love and the way that the love is manifested in these stories. In addition, identify the use of one literary device as it is used to influence the theme.
5. Childhood experiences are important to the development of a child. Based on the prescribed list of short stories, select any TWO short stories that address the theme of childhood experiences and discuss the ways in which the experiences of the child move the plot forward.
6. The physical environment plays an integral role in understanding the actions of the main characters. From the prescribed list, select TWO short stories where the physical environment becomes important to the actions of the main characters. Discuss the ways that the main characters respond to the events in the physical environment.
7. Dramatic irony appears in the short stories. Based on your reading of the short stories, select TWO short stories where there is dramatic irony. Ensure that you refer to the stories by giving specific examples of dramatic irony.
8. Explain the significance of the setting and the ways that this impacts the story. From the prescribed list of short stories, choose TWO stories that you have studied in which there is a rural setting. Write an essay in which you describe the setting in EACH story. In this essay, you must also compare how the setting for EACH story contributes to mood and characterization.
9. Language brings life to the story so that the reader can understand the character and the plot.
10. Compare the use of the dialect and standard English in any TWO of the short stories on the prescribed list.
11. Explain the significance of language and the ways that it impacts the events in the selected TWO short stories. 
12. Conflict stands as the struggle between opposite forces in a story. The conflict in a story can be external or internal.
13. From the prescribed list, select TWO short stories where there is external conflict.
14. Discuss how the main character handle the conflict.
15. Internal conflict refers to emotional challenges that the characters face in the stories. Based on your reading of any TWO short stories on the prescribed list:
16. Describe the internal conflict that the MAIN character faces.
17. Discuss how this conflict is resolved at the end of the story.
18. The point of view in a story refers to the perspective from which the story is told. Authors often use the first person or the third persons perspective to tell the story. Based on the list of short stories, select TWO short stories that are told using the first-person narrative.
19. Describe the benefits of using the first-person narrative in the selected short stories.
20. Citing examples from the stories, discuss at least one instance where the first-person narrative was instrumental in shaping the readers’ understanding of the events.
21. Select TWO stories from the prescribed list that shows the use of flashback.
22. Describe the use of flashback to bring the writers’ point across to the readers.
23. Assess the ways that the use of flashback helps the reader to understand the events in the present.