Christmas Music
Which artist released the Christmas song “Mistletoe” in 2011?
The name of the main character in Home Alone
Kevin
Who is the main childhood friend O’Brien writes about in “The Lives of the Dead,” and how did she die?
Linda
What does Zaroff consider "the most dangerous game?"
Who sings, "Simply, having a wonderful Christmas time..."
Paul McCartney
The name of the movie where a character confronts Santa and screams, "You sit on a throne of lies."
Elf
What does O’Brien mean when he says that stories can “make things present”? Give one example from the chapter.
When O’Brien says stories can “make things present,” he means that storytelling allows people who have died to feel alive again in memory. For example, when he tells stories about Linda, he imagines her healthy and laughing, which makes her feel real and alive again to him.
Why does the narrator's husband John ask her to stop writing. ("Yellow Wallpaper")
He thinks it will make her condition worse.
It brings Frosty to life
What is a magical hat
George Bailey’s guardian angel
Who is Clarence
Why does O’Brien place Linda’s story next to stories about dead soldiers from the Vietnam War? What connection is he asking the reader to make?
He wants to show that storytelling can bring the dead back to life and that processing loss is the same whether it is a childhood friend (from childhood) or someone you lose as an adult.
What does the wallpaper symbolize?
The narrator being trapped.
The pop singer who has been called the Queen of Christmas.
Mariah Carey
The nickname of the Home Alone burglars
Who are the Wet Bandits
In “The Lives of the Dead,” O’Brien claims that storytelling can be a kind of resurrection. Do you think he believes stories actually defeat death—or do they serve a different purpose? Explain using evidence from the text.
O’Brien does not believe stories literally defeat death, but he believes they defeat emotional death. Through stories, the dead continue to exist in memory and meaning. When he tells stories about Linda or fallen soldiers, they are not forgotten, and that gives them a form of life beyond physical death.
Why does Rainsford choose to return to Zaroff’s house at the end instead of escaping the island, and what does that choice reveal about his character?
Rainsford shows that he has changed from someone who believed hunting was a clean, civilized sport into someone willing to use violence to stop cruelty.