Does: It sets the scene for sophistication, decorum, and a high-brow experience.

How: By creating juxtaposition between the fancy restaurant and the husband and wife's reaction, the author is challenging the idea of how one presents oneself in society. Everything is not always as it seems in relationships.

Setting Leveled Questions:

Level 1: How is the restaurant described?

Level 2: Why might the couple have chosen the restaurant? Is it a favorite place? A splurge?

Level 3: How might specific places (restaurants, parks, homes) hold value that are beyond their specific purpose?

Says: Direct quote, summary of scene, etc.

Does: What does the setting "do" for the reader?

How: How does the author showcase this idea? (Literary devices, etc.).

Leveled Questions

left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay;...Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head"(Faulkner pg 5).

Does: Establishes that she killed her husband and slept next to his corpse so she wouldn't ever be lonley again.

How: By using storytelling to portray the events to lead up to why she had taken such drastic measures to ensure she would be rid of loneliness. It also gives context on why she decided to kill him, as a likeness for her dead father.

Level 1: Why did she sleep next to her husbands corpse?

Level 2: Why did her husband seem so similar to her father?

Level 3: Why did she take such drastic measures to keep her husband with her as opposed to what they did to her father?

Does: This being one of the first sentences creates a decaying feeling throughout the entire text. The recent death of her and less recent death of her father amplifies this feeling of decay. The civil war's recent end and the fact that this is a southern town provides context for the persistence of racism in the community.

How: Through the way that the author portrays Emily's decaying self, home and society around her, Faulkner shows how the wealthy south is decaying and degrading in this time period since the civil war had ended. The little money left for her by her father is symbolic of the fall of the aristocracy in the south, and the way that the Grierson lineage dies with her further symbolizes this fall.

Level 1: How does the author suggest Homer Barron died?

Level 2: Why does Emily Grierson hermitze herself from the outside world?

Level 3: How does the presence of slavery influence the meaning of stories?

Does: The house is a decaying relic from another time, like Mrs. Emily herself. It represents her isolation and the control her past has imposed over her.

How?: The narrator describes how her house is dilapidated and falling apart. While the rest of her street has new gas pumps and stores, she lives in an ancient manor. Her father drove everyone away and made her isolated, and his house with his portrait is where she lives and never leaves. By using the house as an extension of herself, the narrator can add more detail and depth to her story.

Questions:

1. How was the house described?

2. How does the description of the house add to the image of Mrs. Emily in the community?

3. Why might the author have included this in-depth description of the house? How might authors use setting to foreshadow future events?

slipped in beside Mr. Kapasi. "Raj has his dumb book anyway." Together,

through the windshield, Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi watched as Bobby and

the monkey passed the stick back and forth between them." (Lahiri 25).

Does: Forces Mr Kapasi and Mrs Das to fully confront how they feel about each other that's been built up throughout the story.

Level 1 - How is the car described when the whole family is in it vs when it's just Mrs Das and Mr Kapasi?

Level 2 - How might the forced closeness of the car impact how the characters interact with each other?

Level 3 - How does culture influence the setting and how the characters view events during the story?

Does: Shows that she was unable to move on from him and has lived by a dead corpse for years..

How: Show how Ms. Emily struggled with letting go and in turn it didn’t let her move on and live her with. She ended up casting everyone out which would ultimately lead to her dying alone.

Level 1:How does Ms.Emily isolate herself from the town?

Level 2:Why did Ms.Emily react the way she did to her fathers death?

Level 3:How did the towns people contribute to Ms.Emily isolation and what does it suggest about how people view the grieving process?

Does: Reinforces the idea that the relationships in both Mr. Kapasiki and Mrs. Das' life are stalled or have "dried up".

How: The author utilizes the desert and the dried up river as symbols that prove how relationships that once flourished in each of these characters lives have now dried up and become stale. This proves how we can never be sure that things will thrive even with care and attention.

Level 1 - How is the sun temple described?

Level 2 - How does the setting of the temple symbolize the relationships the characters are experiencing?

Level 3 - What role can geographical setting play in guiding readers understanding of relationships as a whole?

DOES: shows the reader how mr kapasi views himself as an overworked and tired man

HOW: Lahiri shows how mr kapasi views himself through internal comparison between himself and the surya

level 1: how does the setting change

level 2: how does the changing of the setting reveal the personalities of the characters through the story

level 3: how does the setting transitioning in the car affect how the reader perceives the setting

DOES: The house sets the story up to be mysterious and rooted in tradition. It allows the reader to explore the different traditions in an evolving society.

HOW: The juxtaposition of Mrs. Emily, a traditional Old South woman, compared to more progressive townspeople shows how unwavering belief in tradition can lead to the isolation of people in a society that is moving towards change. Mrs. Emily’s refusal to change, which is exhibited through her house, contributes to her isolation from the community and becoming a sort of spectacle in the eyes of the people around her. The contrasting beliefs of Mrs. Emily versus the community develop the idea of tradition versus progression. 

LEVELED QUESTIONS

1: How is Mrs. Emily characterized by the townspeople?

2: Why is Mrs. Emily stubborn when it comes to the appearance and transformation of her house?

3: How does the idea of tradition contribute to the isolation of people in certain groups or settings?

Does: The house shows a place that lacks change. While outside factors constantly are shifting Mrs Emily and her home are suspended in the time frame they stopped in when her father died the only changes being the age of her and her homes slow decay.

How: The juxtaposition between Mrs Emily's house and the changing neighborhood and time period around it creates a contrast to show the stagnant place that Mrs Emily has been stuck in since her father died to lead readers to understand how holding onto the past only holds you back from the future ahead.

Leveled Questions:

1. How do the townspeople view Mrs.Emily?

2. Why is this important to understanding Mrs.Emily's past and why she acts a certain way?

3. Why does the author choose to focus so much on Mrs.Emily's isolation and ultimately how different people work through emotions?