Short Story Collection Discussion Questions

Select a story to view the corresponding discussion questions

The Black Sheep

The Cat and the Fiddle

The Last Lesson

The Masque of the Red Death

The Quicksand

The Ransom of Red Chief

The Story of Little Boy Blue

The War Prayer

The Woman Who Tried to Be Good

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The Black Sheep

1. Did you enjoy hearing this story told through the eyes of the sheep, rather than the boy who lives in the lane? How did it change the story?
2. Did the old ram get what he deserved, because he was so stingy about sharing his wool?
3. What is the moral of this story?

The Cat and the Fiddle

1. Did you have an animal companion when you were a child? What was your pet's name? How did you both pass the time?
2. Does hearing Baum's common sense explanation for how this nursery rhyme came to be take some of the magic away from the story? Do you prefer your own imagination to the story?
3. Have you ever researched the factual basis for how nursery rhymes came to be? Some of them come from grim historical occasions.

The Last Lesson

1. With examples, discuss the many ways the use of language determines who has power, influences us, and misdirects us. How does it cause conflict, yet also bring peace?
2. Imagine someone told you that you could no longer speak your native language? How would your identity change? What parts of your culture would you lose?
3. What does this story seem to say about the value of education?

The Masque of the Red Death

1. What is the meaning behind the hourly striking of the clock?
2. Why do you think Poe colored the rooms the way he did? In particular, why is the westernmost chamber black and the easternmost chamber blue?
3. Describe the Prince's character. Consider his actions and his name.

The Quicksand

1. Can you summarize all the different conflicts Mrs. Quentin feels in this story?
2. Do you believe Mrs. Quentin did the right thing by telling Miss Fenno her background with Alan's father and the newspaper?
3. What kind of newspaper is the Radiator? Can you equate it to a newspaper or news organization today?

The Ransom of Red Chief

1. How does irony play a central role in the humor of this story?
2. Have you known any children like Johnny—rambunctious, full of life, and absolutely exhausting? What kind of child were you?
3. Johnny's father's name is Ebenezer. How is this a fitting name?

The Story of Little Boy Blue

1. At one point in the story, the narrator says, "it is true that no life can be so happy but that sorrow will creep in to temper it." Do you recognize times in your life that sorrow crept in and tempered your happiness? Would it be possible to savor happiness if sorrow didn't exist?
2. Little Boy Blue is dedicated to his mother, and the narrator closes by saying that no one is afraid to trust a boy who loves and cares for his mother. Is it true that you can judge the character of a man by the way he treats his mother?
3. This story is very idealized. Can you retell this story from the perspective of today's world? How would it be different?

The War Prayer

1. Mark Twain originally submitted this piece to Harper's Bazaar because of his outrage by American military intervention in the Philippines. The magazine rejected it because it was too radical. What is radical about this prose poem?
2. The story criticizes patriotism run amok. What does it mean to be a patriot? What are the signs that patriotism has become rabid?
3. Why does Twain use the backdrop of a church sermon as the setting of the poem? How are church, God, and patriotism interwoven? Is this a healthy or dangerous mix?

The Woman Who Tried to Be Good

1. In characterizing Blanche Devine, the narrator mentions that we don't associate vice with eyeglasses. Are there other features or characteristics that we associate with innocence? What outward characteristics do we associate with mischievousness? With evil?
2. Why was Blanche Devine unable to be good? What does this say about human nature?
3. Discuss the significance of the names of the characters in the story. Why do the young husband and wife have no name?