How old are the two boys in the story? How old is the narrator as he tellsthe story? How might the passage of time influence the way he remembers and relates the events?
What will be an ideal response?
- Early on, we are told that “It was eight in the evening, not that early if you aren’t yet sixteen, and we weren’t. Not quite” (par. 17). Later, the point is made even more precisely: “But I was only fifteen then” (par. 97). In the story’s fourth paragraph, Enn tells us that “I’ve not seen Vic for thirty years”; thus, we know all along that at the time of the narration he is at least forty-five, and possibly even older, since we don’t know how much time elapsed between the night of the party and the last time the two boys were together. Then, near the end of the story, we are given the very interesting detail that “This all happened thirty years ago” (par. 124), with its hint that the events of that night, and the two boys’ very different reactions to those events, might have been responsible for the severing of their friendship.
The rest of that paragraph directly addresses the question of how the passage of time might have affected the narrator’s recollections: “I have forgotten much, and I will forget more, and in the end I will forget everything; yet, if I have any certainty of life beyond death, it is all wrapped up not in psalms or hymns, but in this one thing alone: I cannot believe that I will ever forget that moment, or forget the expression on Stella’s face as she watched Vic hurrying away from her. Even in death I shall remember that.” His comment that “I have forgotten much” refers presumably to his entire life experience, because he seems to have virtually total recall of the events of the evening of the party, even though the interval of thirty years may have given him a little more perspective on the awkwardness, hesitancy, and bewilderment that marked his youth.
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Fill in the letter of the word that best fits in each sentence. Use each letter only once
a. charlatan c. connoisseur e. déjà vu g. facade b. chic d. décor f. entrée h. naive It is _____ to think that everyone tells the truth all of the time.
What is ironic about the final confrontation of Russell and Holmes by Donleavy?
a. Patricia Donleavy is Moriarty's daughter. b. Donleavy tries to force Holmes to sign a suicide note. c. It was Patricia Donleavy who taught Mary the Queen Sacrifice. d. Donleavy is unable to use her mind to carve out an intellectual place for herself in the world.
The biggest influence on newspaper style has been
A. inverted pyramid format. B. colonial readers. C. technology.