“The Enormous Radio” “The Worm in the Apple”, & “Manhattan Phone Book”

“The Enormous Radio” Responses Before you read the story: 1) Why are people in our society so interested others people’s lives? Why is there a desire to do see/hear/talk about other people ? Give examples of how this occurs in various ways/forms.

“The Enormous Radio” Responses After you’ve read the story: 2) Why does Irene want to constantly listen in on other people in their apartment? How does listening to the radio change Irene? Explain.

“The Enormous Radio” Responses After you’ve read the story: 3) What is Cheever's main point that he's trying to convey in this story? In other words, what is the theme? Explain, backing up your views by using examples from the story.

“The Enormous Radio” Responses After you’ve read the story: 4) How does the story pertain to the Cold War? What elements in the story reflect the time period, the attitude of America and the American people in the late 1940’s/early 1950’s? Explain.

“The Worm in the Apple” Responses Before you read the story: 1) What does the phrase ‘Worm in the Apple’ mean? Give a real life example of this analogy (i.e. not a LITERAL ‘worm in the apple’).

“The Worm in the Apple” Responses After you’ve read the story: 2) The narrator in the story seems to continually try to find the negatives in a situation. Do you do that? Why do so many people do that (and what’s the reason(s) behind doing this, etc…)? Explain.

“The Worm in the Apple” Responses After you’ve read the story: 3) What is the "worm in the apple" in the story? Give examples from the text to back up your views.

“The Worm in the Apple” Responses After you’ve read the story: 4) What’s the overall message of “The Worm in the Apple” (i.e. the theme)? State it in fully and formally and then explain and defend your answer.

“Manhattan Phone Book” Responses After you’ve read the story: Write up a 3 – 4 sentence description about yourself in the style of the author (John Varley) as he’s done with the various characters in the first two pages of the story.

“Manhattan Phone Book” Responses After you’ve read the story: Twice toward the end of the story, Varley includes very graphic violent descriptions (paragraph starting “You had a tougher…” and the paragraph beginning “Everyone dies. Your father…”). Why does the author use such graphic imagery at these points in the story? How does it add to the effectiveness of the story and the author’s purpose? Explain thoroughly.

“Manhattan Phone Book” Responses After you’ve read the story: 3) At least three times Varley mentions taxes on the last page of the story. Explain the point Varley is making with these references and argue whether or not you agree with him. Make sure you’re backing up your views with valid arguments and examples.