Ingredients
What is the setting of The Pedestrian
Time: Near future (2053)
Place: Secluded sidewalk in a suburban neighborhood
The use of the pronoun I
Leonard's stated thoughts about his society (more internal dialogue revealed)
Why is the central conflict in the story man vs. technology?
Anything about the prominence of technology is correct.
Name the incorrect event: 1.Leonard Mead walking 2. Leonard Mead passing his neighbor's houses and wondering aloud what they are watching on TV 3. Leonard Mead passing a busy intersection and waiting for cars to pass before proceeding. 4. Leonard Mead being accosted by a police "robot" self-driving car.
Number 3 did not happen in the plot of the story. This was a description of how the intersection looks during the day.
What is the most logical explanation for the crumbling sidewalks?
People don't go outside much, and when they do they are driving. The city doesn't maintain it.
What is the primary conflict in The Pedestrian?
Man vs. society
man vs. technology
How would the story change if it were being told from the third person omniscient POV?
The reader would learn more about the reactions of the people in their houses and possibly the thought process of the robot police officer in its "surprise" or "confusion" about his walking.
The reader would know even more about the society.
The reader would know things Leonard Mead has no way of knowing.
Which external conflict is missing from this story, and why?
Man vs man because Mead is the only real person featured in the story.
What is the climax of The Pedestrian?
Leonard Mead's confrontation with the police car.
What is the most logical explanation for Mead's change of shoes described in the story?
He changes shoes to avoid attracting the attention of dogs in the neighborhood and by extension their owners.
From which POV is The Pedestrian written?
The limited third person POV of the protagonist, Leonard Mead.
What are five sensory details (that include imagery) from the exposition of the short story?
Answers will vary. Justify answers from another class with evidence; first period will do this tomorrow.
What internal conflict does Mead experience?
disconnection and isolation; wanting to be closer to his neighbors.
What mood is established during the rising action?
Lonely, dark, cold, ominous, etc.
What is the most logical explanation for the lack of police presence in the story?
Major crimes have been avoided due to technology and a lack of human interaction.
What is theme of The Pedestrian?
Any answers about the dangers of technology and/or the importance of human connection are all correct.
Five potential lines of dialogue from the people in their houses along Leonard Mead's path you would include if the story were written from the third person omniscient POV.
Answers may vary. Justify answers from another class; first period will do this tomorrow.
Explain how the conflict in this story develops the theme.
Answers may vary. Answers that include technology taking over, Leonard's isolation, or differences between his society and WHY they teach the lesson in the story are correct. (Partial credit may be awarded for this question.
Identify one detail we learn about the society during the exposition of the story.
Add a line of dialogue that might occur in the story if it were written from the third person omniscient POV
Answers may vary. Any lines between people in their houses about Mead and his strange walking habits or suspicious behavior from their dogs, etc. would be correct. Any lines of communication between the three police robots alerting the reader to their awareness of his presence and calling for one to investigate would also be correct, etc.
Speech/Thoughts - Something that he said and/or thought that revealed a character trait
Effect on others - How the police car responded to him and a trait revealed by it
Actions - Something that he did in the story and a trait it reveals
Looks - How he (or rather, his house) is described in the story and a trait it reveals.
As a class/team write a five sentence exposition from the first person point of view of Leonard Mead.
Answers may vary. The five sentences should introduce the character, and setting, invoke a mood, and reveal or at least hint at the central conflict.
Why is a central conflict in the story man vs. society?
Any answer about the difference between Mead and his society or his eventual detainment and transportation to the "Psychiatric Centre for Research on Regressive Tendencies " is correct.
Write a five sentence extension to the story that begins in the appropriate setting and sets a similar mood to the exposition of The Pedestrian
Answers will vary.
Write a question for the next class that goes here. Make it something I have already asked, and make it a doozy!