Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, 6th Edition Solution Manual

KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page i INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BACKPACK LITERATURE SIXTH EDITION KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page ii KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page iii INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BACKPACK LITERATURE An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing SIXTH EDITION X. J. Kennedy Dorothy M. Kennedy Dana Gioia University of Southern California Dan Stone with Michael Palma KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page iv Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone All Rights Reserved. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise. For information regarding permissions, request forms and the appropriate contacts within the Pearson Education Global Rights & Permissions Department, please visit www.pearsoned.com/permissions/. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-477247-9 ISBN-10: 0-13-477247-4 KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page v CONTENTS Preface viii FICTION Stories Arranged by Type and Element 3 Stories Arranged by Subject and Theme 7 Stories Students Like Most 13 1 Reading a Story 15 TYPES OF SHORT FICTION PLOT 18 THE SHORT STORY 18 15 2 Point of View 23 3 Character 37 4 Setting 49 5 Tone and Style 59 IRONY 63 6 Theme 67 7 Symbol 77 8 Gallery of International Voices 92 9 Stories for Further Reading 104 POETRY Poems Arranged by Subject and Theme 133 Poems for Further Reading, Arranged by Elements Poems Students Like Most 147 151 Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone v KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page vi vi Contents 10 Reading a Poem 153 LYRIC POETRY 153 NARRATIVE POETRY 155 DRAMATIC POETRY 157 11 Listening to a Voice 159 TONE 159 THE SPEAKER IN THE POEM IRONY 166 12 Words 162 169 LITERAL MEANING: WHAT A POEM SAYS FIRST THE VALUE OF A DICTIONARY 171 WORD CHOICE AND WORD ORDER 172 13 Saying and Suggesting 178 DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION 14 Imagery 169 178 183 ABOUT HAIKU 15 Figures of Speech 186 190 WHY SPEAK FIGURATIVELY? 190 METAPHOR AND SIMILE 190 OTHER FIGURES OF SPEECH 194 16 Sound 198 SOUND AS MEANING 198 ALLITERATION AND ASSONANCE 199 RIME 200 HOW TO READ A POEM ALOUD 202 17 Rhythm 204 STRESSES AND PAUSES METER 206 18 Closed Form 204 208 THE SONNET 210 THE EPIGRAM 214 OTHER FORMS 214 19 Open Form 218 FREE VERSE 218 Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page vii Contents 20 Symbol 21 Myth 226 236 ARCHETYPE 237 PERSONAL MYTH 240 MYTH AND POPULAR CULTURE 22 What Is Poetry? 242 246 23 Poems for Further Reading 247 DRAMA 24 Reading a Play 293 25 Tragedy and Comedy 298 TRAGEDY 298 COMEDY 299 26 The Theater of Sophocles 304 27 The Theater of Shakespeare 28 The Modern Theater 312 321 29 Plays for Further Reading 332 WRITING 30 Writing About Literature 343 31 Writing a Research Paper 345 Appendix 1: Teaching Creative Writing 347 WRITING A POEM (SOME NOTES BY XJK) Appendix 2: Notes on Teaching Poetry by XJK Index of Authors with Titles 347 350 352 Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone vii KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page viii PREFACE We’ve always found, before teaching a knotty piece of literature, that no preparation is more helpful than to sit down and discuss it with a colleague or two. If this manual supplies you with such a colleague at inconvenient hours, such as 2:00 A.M., when there’s no one in the faculty coffee room, it will be doing its job. This manual tries to provide exactly that sort of collegial conversation—spirited but specific, informal but informed. We offer you a sheaf of diverse notes to supply— if you want them—classroom strategies, critical comments, biographical information, historical context, and a few homemade opinions. These last may be wrong, but we set them down to give you something clear-cut with which to agree or disagree. Candor, we think, helps to enliven any conversation. The manual includes: • Commentary on every story, poem, and play presented in the text, except for a few brief poems quoted in the text as illustrations; • Additional classroom questions and discussion strategies; • Thematic Indices at the beginning of the “Fiction” and “Poetry” sections. PLAN OF THE BOOK There is a plan to Literature, but the book does not oblige you to follow it. Chapters may be taken up in any sequence; some instructors like to intersperse poetry and plays with stories. Some may wish to teach Chapter 21 on “Myth” immediately before teaching Oedipus the King. Many find that “Imagery” is a useful chapter with which to begin teaching poetry. Instructors who prefer to organize the course by theme will want to consult the detailed thematic indices. If, because you skip around in the book, students encounter a term unknown to them, let them look it up in the Index of Terms. They will be directed to the page where it first occurs and where it will be defined and illustrated. In the poetry chapters, the sections titled “For Review and Further Study” do not review the whole book up to that moment; they review only the main points of the chapter. Most of these sections contain some poems that are a little more difficult than those in the body of that chapter. viii Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page ix Preface ix TEXTS AND EDITORIAL POLICY Spelling has been modernized and rendered American, unless to do so would change the sound of a word. Untitled poems are identified by their first lines, except for those that have titles assigned by custom. The poems of Emily Dickinson are presented as edited by Thomas H. Johnson. It would have been simpler to gloss no word a student could find in a desk dictionary, on the grounds that rummaging through dictionaries is good moral discipline; but it seemed best not to require the student to exchange text for dictionary as many as thirty times in reading a story, poem, or play. Glosses have been provided, therefore, for whatever seemed likely to get in the way of pleasure and understanding. The spelling rime is used instead of rhyme on the theory that rime is easier to tell apart from rhythm. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS If we have described this manual as a 24-hour teacher’s lounge, we are pleased to report how many interesting colleagues have stopped in to chat. We receive a steady stream of letters on Literature from instructors throughout North America and abroad. Sometimes they disagree with our comments; more often they add new information or perspective. Frequently they pass on stories about what works or does not work in their classrooms. Much of this information is simply too good not to share. We have, therefore, supplemented our own comments with hundreds of comments from instructors (always properly credited to their authors). THANKS Heartfelt thanks to Michael Palma, who contributed many excellent entries on the new selections added to this edition. His deep knowledge of literature and crisp sense of style keeps the manual fresh, informed, and accessible. Ongoing thanks go to Erika Koss of Northeastern University, who contributed a number of entries to the previous edition, to Susan Balée and Neil Aitken, who contributed to the chapter on writing a research paper; and to April Lindner, who served as associate editor for the writing section revisions of an earlier edition. Ongoing thanks to Robert McPhillips, Cheryl Clements, Lee Gurga, Nan LaBoe, Richard Mezo, Jeff Newberry, Beverly Schneller, Janet Schwarzkopf, Theresa Welford, and William Zander for help with this book. Many instructors, most of whose names appear in this manual, generously wrote us with their suggestions and teaching experiences. Other instructors are noted in the introductory remarks to the textbook itself. We thank them all for their pragmatic and informed help. We are grateful to Dianne Hall for her formidable effort and good will in managing the design and production of the manual and to Michael Hall for carefully proofreading the book. Finally, we would like to thank Mary Gioia, whose remarkable planning and editorial skills kept this manual in running order despite its erratic drivers. XJK, DG, and DS Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone ix KENN_LitBackpack6_FM_i-x_front matter 9/4/19 1:02 AM Page x KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 1 FICTION KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 2 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 3 STORIES ARRANGED BY TYPE AND ELEMENT If you prefer to teach a different story to illustrate an element of fiction—to discuss style, say, with the aid of “Cathedral” or “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” instead of the examples in the chapter on style—you will find the substitution easy to make. Many choices are at your disposal in Chapter 9, “Stories for Further Reading,” and other stories in the book lend themselves to varied purposes. The following list has a few likely substitutions. If you teach other elements of fiction (e.g., humor, fantasy) or specific genres, you will find some nominations here. FABLE, PARABLE, AND TALE STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES Death Has an Appointment in The Parable of the Prodigal Son Samarra The Tell-Tale Heart Godfather Death Independence The Fox and the Grapes The Camel and His Friends STORY INCLUDED IN CHAPTER A&P PLOT OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES Barn Burning The Gift of the Magi The Lottery A Rose for Emily A Sound of Thunder The Shunammite The Story of an Hour This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona POINT OF VIEW First Person Narrator as Central Character STORY INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES The Tell-Tale Heart Araby (mature narrator recalling boyhood view) Barbie-Q Cathedral Greasy Lake Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 3 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 4 4 FICTION POINT OF VIEW (Cont.) A Pair of Tickets Recitatif The Shunammite The Yellow Wallpaper First Person Narrator Not the Protagonist STORY INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORY A Rose for Emily The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Third Person, All-knowing Narrator STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Gift of the Magi A Worn Path A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World The Storm The Things They Carried This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? (par. 1–13) Third Person, Limited Omniscience (Narrator Seeing into One Major Character) SUGGESTED STORIES Barn Burning The Gospel According to Mark Miss Brill The Story of an Hour Objective or “Fly-on-the-Wall” Point of View SUGGESTED STORIES The Chrysanthemums A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Multiple Points of View SUGGESTED STORY A Haunted House CHARACTER STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES Bullet in the Brain Barn Burning (Sarty Snopes: dynamic Cathedral character, one who develops within Recitatif the story) Where Are You Going? Where The Chrysanthemums Have You Been? Everyday Use A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Things They Carried A Worn Path Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 5 Stories Arranged by Type and Element SETTING STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES The Gospel According to Mark A&P A Pair of Tickets Araby The Storm The Chrysanthemums To Build a Fire A Clean, Well-Lighted Place A Good Man Is Hard to Find Greasy Lake A Haunted House A Rose for Emily Sweat The Things They Carried This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona The Yellow Wallpaper Young Goodman Brown TONE AND STYLE STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES Barn Burning Barbie-Q A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Cathedral Girl A Good Man Is Hard to Find Greasy Lake A Haunted House The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World A Rose for Emily The Tell-Tale Heart The Things They Carried Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? A Worn Path Young Goodman Brown STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER The Gift of the Magi Happy Endings IRONY OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES Death Has an Appointment in Samarra Dead Men’s Path The Gospel According to Mark Happy Endings The Lottery A Rose for Emily Saboteur The Storm The Story of an Hour To Build a Fire Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 5 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 6 6 FICTION STORIES INCLUDED IN CHAPTER The Chrysanthemums The Lottery The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas The Yellow Wallpaper SYMBOL OTHER SUGGESTED STORIES Araby Cathedral A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Greasy Lake (the lake itself) A Haunted House The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World A Rose for Emily Sweat The Tell-Tale Heart A Worn Path Young Goodman Brown Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 7 STORIES ARRANGED BY SUBJECT AND THEME In case you prefer to teach fiction according to its subjects and general themes, we have provided a list of stories that may be taken up together. Some instructors who arrange a course thematically like to begin with Chapter 6, Theme, and its four stories. ART, LANGUAGE, AND IMAGINATION Cathedral Everyday Use The Gospel According to Mark The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Saints A Sound of Thunder The Yellow Wallpaper CHILDHOOD Araby Barbie-Q Girl Recitatif COMEDY AND SATIRE A&P Happy Endings Harrison Bergeron How I Met My Husband How to Talk to Girls at Parties Independence This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona COMING OF AGE, INITIATION STORIES Araby Barn Burning Greasy Lake How I Met My Husband Recitatif Saints The Shunammite Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 7 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 8 8 FICTION This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? DEATH Bullet in the Brain Death Has an Appointment in Samarra Dead Men’s Path Godfather Death A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Gospel According to Mark The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World A Rose for Emily Sweat This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona To Build a Fire DEFIANCE OF FATE Death Has an Appointment in Samarra Godfather Death A Worn Path DISABILITIES Cathedral DIVINE REVELATION The Gospel According to Mark EPIPHANIES AND ILLUMINATIONS Araby Greasy Lake A Haunted House The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World The Lawsuit Miss Brill A Pair of Tickets The Parable of the Prodigal Son Saints The Story of an Hour FACING ONE’S OWN DEATH A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Gospel According to Mark To Build a Fire FAMILIES Barn Burning Everyday Use A Good Man Is Hard to Find A Pair of Tickets The Parable of the Prodigal Son Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 9 Stories Arranged by Subject and Theme Saints The Shunammite The Storm This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona A Worn Path FATHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS Barn Burning A Pair of Tickets The Parable of the Prodigal Son The Storm This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona FRIENDSHIP AND CAMARADERIE A&P Araby Barbie-Q Cathedral Greasy Lake Recitatif Saints The Things They Carried This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona GENERATION GAPS A&P Araby Girl Greasy Lake Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? HOLDING A JOB, WORK A&P A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Sweat HUMANITY AGAINST THE ELEMENTS To Build a Fire A Worn Path ILLUSION AND REALITY Araby The Chrysanthemums Dead Men’s Path The Gospel According to Mark Greasy Lake Saints The Tell-Tale Heart The Yellow Wallpaper Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 9 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 10 10 FICTION A Worn Path Young Goodman Brown IMMIGRANTS AND EXILES Barbie-Q A Pair of Tickets Saints INDIVIDUAL VERSUS SOCIETY A&P Barn Burning Dead Men’s Path Harrison Bergeron Independence The Lottery The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas A Rose for Emily Saboteur Saints A Worn Path Young Goodman Brown INGENIOUS DECEPTIONS Saints The Tell-Tale Heart Young Goodman Brown LONELINESS The Chrysanthemums A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Miss Brill Saints The Shunammite LOVE AND DESIRE A&P Araby The Chrysanthemums The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World Happy Endings A Haunted House How to Talk to Girls at Parties The Shunammite The Storm The Story of an Hour MACHISMO AND SEXISM A&P Greasy Lake Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 11 Stories Arranged by Subject and Theme The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World The Shunammite Sweat MAGIC AND THE OCCULT Death Has an Appointment in Samarra Godfather Death A Haunted House Young Goodman Brown MARRIAGES (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY) Cathedral The Gift of the Magi Happy Endings A Haunted House The Shunammite The Storm The Story of an Hour Sweat The Yellow Wallpaper MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS Everyday Use Girl A Pair of Tickets Recitatif Saints MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES Dead Men’s Path Everyday Use Independence A Pair of Tickets Saboteur The Shunammite Sweat This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona MURDER A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Gospel According to Mark A Rose for Emily The Tell-Tale Heart Sweat NATURE The Storm A Sound of Thunder To Build a Fire Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 11 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 12 12 FICTION PRIDE BEFORE A FALL Barn Burning Dead Men’s Path RACE, CLASS, AND CULTURE Barbie-Q Barn Burning Dead Men’s Path Everyday Use The Gift of the Magi Independence A Pair of Tickets Recitatif The Shunammite Sweat This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona A Worn Path SIBLINGS Everyday Use A Pair of Tickets The Parable of the Prodigal Son VICTIMS AND VICTIMIZERS A Good Man Is Hard to Find The Lawsuit Saboteur The Shunammite Sweat The Tell-Tale Heart Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? The Yellow Wallpaper WAR The Things They Carried THE WISH TO LEAVE EVERYTHING AND RUN AWAY The Chrysanthemums The Parable of the Prodigal Son Saints WOMEN’S ASPIRATIONS The Chrysanthemums The Shunammite The Yellow Wallpaper Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 13 STORIES STUDENTS LIKE MOST At the end of earlier editions of Literature, we included a short student questionnaire. This form solicited each student’s opinion about his or her reactions to the book. The editors read and saved each completed questionnaire they received. These candid student responses often help improve the anthology from edition to edition. These student responses are interesting in their own right, but they also add perspective on what really happens in the classroom. The stories students prefer often differ sharply from those that instructors rate most highly. Instructors can learn a great deal by remembering how younger readers find certain selections both exciting and illuminating that may seem overly familiar to seasoned teachers. Here are the top stories from previous editions chosen by a large sample of students over the years. FAVORITE STORIES (Student Choices in Rank Order) 1. William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily” 2. Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” 3. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” 4. T. Coraghessan Boyle, “Greasy Lake” 5. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” 6. Jack London, “To Build a Fire” 7. John Updike, “A & P” 8. Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 13 KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 14 FICTION A story even shorter than the one about the last person in the world and her doorbell appeared in a letter to the editor of the Times Literary Supplement for January 16, 1981. “Unluckily,” writes Hugh R. Williams, “I cannot remember the source.” He offers it as the briefest ghost tale ever discovered: Before going to bed one night, a man put his wig on the bedpost. In the morning it had turned white. Suggestion for an assignment in writing a story: Write another supernatural tale that ends with the revelation of something inexplicable. It need not be so brief, but keep it within two paragraphs. 14 Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone KENN_LitBackpack6_p001-130_Fiction 9/4/19 1:15 AM Page 15 1 READING A STORY For a second illustration of a great detail in a story, a detail that sounds observed instead of invented (besides Defoe’s “two shoes, not mates”), you might cite a classic hunk of hokum: H. Rider Haggard’s novel of farfetched adventure, She (1887). Describing how the Amahagger tribesmen dance wildly by the light of unusual torches—embalmed corpses of the citizens of ancient Kor, left over in quantity—the narrator, Holly, remarks, “So soon as a mummy was consumed to the ankles, which happened in about twenty minutes, the feet were kicked away, and another put in its place.” (Pass down another mummy, this one is guttering!) Notice the exact specification “in about twenty minutes” and the unforgettable discarding of the unburned feet, like a candle stub. Such detail, we think, bespeaks a tall-tale-teller of genius. (For this citation, we thank T. J. Binyon’s review of The Private Diaries of Sir Henry Rider Haggard in the Times Literary Supplement, 8 Aug. 1980.) When you introduce students to the tale as a literary form, you might point out that even in this age of electronic entertainment, a few tales still circulate from mouth to ear. Ask them whether they have heard any good tales lately. TYPES OF SHORT FICTION Sufi Legend, DEATH HAS AN APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA, page 6 This classic fable has much in common with the Grimm tale “Godfather Death”— not only the appearance of Death as a character, but also the moral or lesson that Death cannot be defied. Somerset Maugham included this fable in his play Sheppey (1933), but it is probably best known as the epigraph to John O’Hara’s novel Appointment in Samarra (New York: Random, 1934). Students may be asked to recall other fables they know. To jog their memories, famous expressions we owe to Aesop (“sour grapes,” “the lion’s share,” “dog in the manger,” and others) may suggest the fables that gave them rise. At least, the fable of the hare and the tortoise should be familiar to any watcher of old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Aesop, THE FOX AND THE GRAPES, page 7 Aesop’s fables—many of which, like “The Fox and the Grapes,” involve animals endowed with human traits of character and consciousness—are still so familiar to many students that they may be tempted to treat them condescendingly as “kids’ Copyright © 2020, 2016, 2013 by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Dana Gioia, and Dan Stone 15