Discussion Questions
1. Rat is a literalized metaphor. To call
someone a rat is to call attention to similarities between their behavior
and a rat's by speaking as if the similarity were identity. What happens
to our understanding of the metaphor when the identity is made actual?
2. Why is it not immediately clear that
Rat is a mutated animal instead of a human being? What clues show up on
a second reading of the opening?
3. What kind of world is implied by the
fact that no one seems surprised by Rat's appearance and behavior?
4. Many elements in the story derive their
effect from a contrast between appearance and action. The spook is one
example. What are some others and what do they imply about our willingness
to be fooled?
5. How does Rat use the money he makes?
Is this a valid extrapolation from his rat nature? Is it also a metaphor?
5. Is fiction more like the first or the
second kind of memory the narrator talks about?
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