Characters
How many main characters are included in "The Egg" besides the narrator? Who are they?
Two; Mother and Father
What type of story is "The Egg"; What P.O.V. is the story told in?
Narrative; 1st Person P.O.V.
What tone does the narrator give toward the life of a chicken?
Pitiful; Tragic
What words are constantly repeated throughout the story?
Ambition, Egg
Which character seems to drive the family toward ambitious lifestyles most? Why?
Mother; "For herself she wanted nothing. For Father and myself, she wanted everything."
Was the narrator's childhood a happy one? Why?
No, the narrator describes the many failures of his family in chasing their ambitions as well as attributes the chicken farm as scarring to his childhood due to the abundance of death.
What tone does the following statement give the audience about the lives of chickens:
“It is born out of an egg, lives for a few weeks as a tiny fluffy thing such as you will see pictured on Easter cards, then becomes hideously naked, eats quantities of corn and meal bought by the sweat of your father’s brow, gets diseases called pip, cholera, and other names, stands looking with stupid eyes at the sun, becomes sick and dies” (Paragraph 5).
Cynical; Disgusting; Bleak
What is the family's definition of being successful in the Egg as described by Jim Cullen?
To be Upwardly Mobile; To rise in social or economical status.
How many attempts does Father make to impress Joe Kane? How did he attempt to impress him?
3 Times; Columbus Conspiracy, Preserved monstrosities, Forcing the Egg into the Jar.
Is the narrator from "The Egg" biased? If so, does it aid in the reliability of the characterization of his parents?
Yes, The author’s point of view as the biased observer gives the reader the chance to see the parent’s behavior from the unfiltered viewpoint of a grown adult making sense of his childhood.
The narrator mentions that his father goes from being sociable and happy to being “habitually silent and discouraged”(8) upon becoming more ambitious. How do these words from the text help us perceive his tone about ambition?
It helps us understand how the narrator harbor's negative thoughts about success and alludes to the despair the pursuit of success caused his parents.
What two possible themes can be pulled from the text based on the efforts of the parents to achieve their dreams?
Ambition seems to lead one into unhappiness; Success can often come at the expense of personal happiness.
The narrator felt as though he didn't deserve to be happy like the other children in Pickleville, Ohio. Why?
His overall awareness of death or the bleakness of life from the chicken farm, and his understanding of his family's lack of success/ poverty made him feel less worthy of happiness.
How does the narrator's P.O.V. give the audience insight to his motives for telling the story?
The narrator is remembering the events of his childhood, but through the lens of an adult who can interpret and explain the events with more insight.
How does the tone of the story reveal the author’s attitude toward the American Dream and family relationships? How does it shift through the narrator's childhood?
The story begins with an upbeat, almost cheerful tone as the author discusses his father’s life before he married, stating that his father was “quite happy in his position in life”(Paragraph 1). However, as the “American passion for getting up in the world took possession” (Paragraph 2) of his parents, the tone changes to cynical as the narrator sees the futility of his parent’s goals.
How can we compare and contrast Anderson's definition of the American Dream to "The Fallacy of Success" by G.K.Chesterton?
Both disagree with books about Success; however, while Chesterton states that hard work can cause one to achieve their own success, Anderson's display of the parent's failures concurs that the hard work needed to achieve a dream can become endless, cost one their happiness, and may still not result in success.
How does the author's use of characterization of Mother and Father help contribute to the text's theme that Success can come at the cost of one's happiness?
The narrator's depiction of his parents flaws throughout his childhood help symbolize the flaws he sees in the American Dream of Upwards Mobility. The characterization of his parents help support the author's message that the pursuit of the American Dream is a never-ending journey of false hope and disappointment.
How does the narrator's negative view of the life of a chicken help us understand his view of the American Dream?
He compares the lives of Americans to the lives of chickens as being full of disappointments and tragedies; By comparing our lives to that of the chickens on the farms, he alludes to the illusion of our hopes and dreams as most of us will die without accomplishing them.
How does the final paragraph in the story show a shift in the narrator's tone about the ambition of Americans and the American Dream?
In the last paragraph of the story, however, his tone moves from cynical to resignation. He states, “I wondered why eggs had to be and why from the egg came the henwho again laid the egg. The question got into my blood. It has stayed there, I imagine, because I am the son of my father”(Paragraph 27). He sees the circle of the egg and the circle of the American Dream as unstoppable--in nature and in his own life. He knows the unhappiness that it brings, but he also knows that people will continue to strive for their dreams at all costs.
Is Anderson's definition of the American Dream Attainable? Why or why not?
No, Anderson's perspective that the American Dream is a never-ending journey into disappointment. Ambition itself is also portrayed negatively, as the narrator illustrates how all the sacrifices in the world do not necessarily equate to happiness. This alludes to the American Dream being unattainable despite personal sacrifice and hard work.