ATWOOD:
1. Why do you think Atwood structures her story in numbered paragraphs? What is the effect of that on the reader?
2. What is Atwood’s theme here? What do you think is her point? Don’t forget to refer to our chapter on Theme, and use specific examples from the story.
SUNDBERG:
3. What is unusual about Sundberg’s structure, and why do you think she does this?
4. What is Sundberg’s theme, and how does she effectively develop that theme?
PROMPT:
Write a scene in which you develop a theme. For example, if your theme is global warming and the environment, you might write a scene in which plastic is the main focus: plastic bags in the ocean, plastic bags in the trees, plastic bags everywhere, suffocating our world. Or, you might write a scene in which the weather is not what it is supposed to be. For example, I remember a recent winter day when we had seventy degrees on one day in December, and thirty degrees the very next day. If I wrote scenes about these topics, I would not make the plastic or the weather the main focus of the story, but they would have an effect on my characters in a way that would suggest my theme to the reader. Give it a try and see what you come up with.
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