Discussion Questions
1. The first reference to snow in the story
is connected with Georgie's anticipation of death, the second with her
actual death. Is the reader likely to interpret these references thematically
the first time through the story? Do they stand out upon rereading it?
2. When the Director says, "You might start
getting some snow," what does the narrator (and probably the reader) think
he means?
3. One analogy set up explicitly by the
story is between the Wasp's recordings and memory. Another that may be
less obvious is with history. How might the historical record be afflicted
by this kind of snow?
4. We have at least four versions of the
central character: as he describes himself at the time he is visiting The
Park; as he remembers his younger self; as he observes himself on the access;
and as he is at the time of telling the story. How do these four versions
differ and how does the reader resolve the differences?
5. Is fiction more like the first or the
second kind of memory the narrator talks about?
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