Essay Questions

What idea does the narrator transmit through the sentence "Skip the door’’ uttered in the story "Breaking and Entering’’?

The story "Breaking and Entering’’ is a story through which the narrator recalls the events which lead to him murdering a 16 year old boy. The story starts with the narrator thinking back to his college years, and to the time when he first learned how to edit videos and how to write plays. In the beginning, the narrator used to focus on every little detail and to insist of those details being included in the final version. The narrator’s professors taught him to ‘’skip the door’’, or rather to ignore those deals which had no real value and to focus on only what was essential. The narrator tried to apply the advice given when he recalled the events which lead to the death of the boy but then concluded that sometimes, details are what make the story and what give true substance.

What meaning does the narrator transmit through the idea that white people are addicted to indigenous people in "Go, Ghost, Go’’?

Through this story, the narrator recalls a conversation he had with a fellow white professor. The white professor is described as having an unhealthy obsession with indigenous people, or rather with their long suffering. Still, as the narrator notes, the man most likely never had any form of contact with indigenous people and did not suffer through the ordeal of being persecuted. The end of the story suggests the possibility that the white people experience a sort of voyeurism when they focus on the suffering experienced by other nations. By recalling the suffering experienced by others, they feel important while also easing their guilt when it comes to accepting responsibility.

What does the owl symbolize in the story "Bird-watching at Night’’?

In the story mentioned above, the narrator talks about an evening in which he almost ran over an owl. That same night, the narrator also broke up with his girlfriend and years later he claims to still be missing her. An outside voice tells the narrator that what he misses is the owl, not his former girlfriend. In Native American culture, owls are symbolic birds which often have a great deal of power attached to them. It was believed medicine-men had the ability to transform into owls and that owls were an omen of death. Owls are generally linked with the dead and because of this they are both feared and respected. When the outside voice claims the narrator misses being an owl, he may want to transmit the idea that the narrator would want to live in the time period when the Native Indians ruled the land. In those times, they represented the most powerful people, being both feared and respected.