Challenge 725

Jonah’s Counterpart

1. In Ljubo Popovich’s Eve in the Belly of the Whale,” the “whale” makes the story a fantasy. Aside from that, what is the setting’s function in the story? What difference would a fictional planet make as the setting?

2. In Edna C. Horning’s “God Has One, Too”:

   1. Does Cricket know first-hand that Aunt Lucy and Uncle Sulo plan to get rid of Smidge? Does she know why they plan to?
   2. What are Cricket’s aunt and uncle doing while Cricket is on the run? Does Cricket expect anyone to come searching for her?
   3. For what audience does the story seem to be intended? What lessons might a teenage reader take from it if she wants to run away from home?

3. In Charles C. Cole’s “The Last Day of The Ugly Man”:

   1. What is the narrator’s function in the story?
   2. What makes The Ugly Man ugly? Why might the lynch mob be afraid of him?
   3. Does the story resemble any by Franz Kafka?

4. In Walter Kwiatkowski’s “The Dryers Are in Use”:

   1. At what point can readers begin to suspect that reality is not as Daniel Pike sees it?
   2. Does the medical staff play along with Pike’s delusion? Does the doctor take proper precautions to ensure the nurses’ safety?
   3. Why was Pike surprised by the sound of a garbage truck? Did he want his victims’ screams to be heard?

5. In Gary Clifton’s The Dead Bin:

   1. What physical characteristics do Harper, McCoy and Wilson seem to have in common?
   2. How might Harper and Wilson deflect or defuse the aggressive tactics of Mr. Grifford, the ubiquitous defense attorney?
   3. Why does McCoy go along with the Internal Affairs interrogation when he knows the sergeant is exceeding his authority?
   4. Does Maggie Wilson’s human-trafficking case suggest corruption at higher levels?
   
   

   Responses welcome!

   Copyright © August 7, 2017 by Bewildering Stories
   What is a Bewildering Stories Challenge?