Challenge 825

Dress the Part

In L. S. Popovich’s Dust, Izzalia suspects that Virgil is her father. Why doesn’t she ask him whether he is or not?
In Linda Ann LoSchiavo’s The Tale of the Vintner’s Daughter:
1. What does the ending mean, with the rose petals?
2. Several countries have unofficial mascots, for example: Russia, the bear; Canada, the beaver; France, the rooster. What mascot might Romania adopt? How might Romanians feel about it, even if it were elegantly dressed?
In Jeremy Nathan Marks’ The Reason I Hate My Body:
1. Is the narrator’s viewpoint that of a Manichean?
2. In what way or ways does the story overstep our “stereotypes” guideline? Why is it permissible under the circumstances?
3. Put yourself in the position of an editor. Lacking any information other than the text, would you classify the story as flash fiction, an essay or a memoir? Explain.
In Jeffrey Greene’s Water of Life:
1. What assumption does Coleman make about the label and advertising of the “Water of Life”?
2. In view of Coleman’s assumptions about regular drinking water, how could he easily obtain and use a low-cost equivalent of the “Water of Life”?
3. In view of the story’s events, how might Coleman’s name, “Stillworth,” be construed as humorous?
4. The story does not depict a true addiction. What effect does it depict? Why do Coleman and others fall prey to it?