Here are some ideas to consider about each story as you prepare for the proctored final.

• In your opinion is Arnold Friend mostly like Satan, the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood,” or just a plain criminal or psychopath? Give examples from “Where Are You Going? Where Have you Been?” to support your views.
• What is the meaning of the advice the son gives his father in “The Shawl”? How does this advice heal the intergenerational trauma experienced by the characters? How is the story both true about the specific people in the story and about the Native American experience?
• What are the causes of Gregor Samsa’s alienation and isolation in The Metamorphosis? What psychological and historical parallels are there for this story?
• What is the nature of the conflict between Dee/Wangero and Mama in “Everyday Use”? Who is right?
• In “Javi,” what reasons might Javi have for not staying with his mother? The author comments that he wanted to juxtapose a character who is beginning his life (Javi) with a character that is near the end of hers (the painter). What is the insight the reader gains through this juxtaposition?
• What is the trauma of war as explored in “The Things They Carried”? How does O’Brien do justice to the experience of his fellow soldiers through this story?