Behind the Blue Curtain Bielec 10H

To Start Identify: a) a quester b) a place to go c) a stated reason to go there d) challenges and trials en route e) a real reason to go there

On page 405, what does our protagonist notice on the “Coming Attraction” sign on his way into the theater?

Explain the purpose of the light/dark motif throughout the story Explain the purpose of the light/dark motif throughout the story. It may help to consult the first two paragraphs and the final sentence. How does the particular season in which the story is set connect to this motif? It may help to think about what summer means for a younger student.

Explain the purpose of the mother. We only see her mentioned twice. “…and my mother lay on two pillows in her darkened room, rasping with asthma” p. 404 “In her white slip* my mother had sat at the edge of the bed, drawing* on a stocking.” p. 409 It may help to see what the female actor is wearing on page 408. *a woman's sleeveless undergarment, worn as a lining for and to give support to a dress *putting on

“[Sigmund] Freud thought that children turn their interest and love toward their parent of the opposite sex and begin to strongly resent the parent of the same sex. He called this idea the Oedipus Complex as it closely mirrored the events of an ancient Greek tragic play in which a king named Oedipus manages to marry his mother and kill his father.”

If going to the movies alone is so important to our protagonist, why does Millhauser only give it one sentence? “And suddenly it was over, the lights came on, people rose to go.” p. 405

“Nearby I saw the row of closed doors leading to the entranceway; under the doors I could see a disturbing line of sunlight. And clattering around a turn in the spookhouse, suddenly you see a silver light at the bottom of the black walls.” p. 406 Why does Millhauser shift POV here? What is the effect? Where else do you see this type of image?

What’s the deal with the woman?

“And as she flickered and shook before me I felt a vague excitement, my skin began to tingle as if she were brushing against me with her thick, shaking curls, her trembling skin, her white silk stockings.” p. 408-409 “An unaccountable desire seized me” p. 409 “I felt myself” to “roughly with a towel” on page 409.

“His look of stern surprise, when he saw me burst through the door into the late-afternoon sun, struck me as wildly funny, and I forgot to chasten my features into repentance as I seized his warm hand.” p. 410

How does our protagonist’s view of his father change from the opening paragraph to the final sentence? What language helps you come to this conclusion? Why does the father’s expression strike the protagonist as “wildly funny”? Consider in the opening: “My father was never wrong, but I felt he was trying to shield me from darker knowledge.” Examine the word “chasten” and discuss why Millhauser chooses it.

On page 410, what does the protagonist see on the “Coming Attraction” sign on the way out? Thoughts?

So why are we reading this in a unit on The Odyssey?