The Skating Party - Colonel By Secondary School



The Skating Party

The Skating Party

1. Find and explain one example each of both verbal and situational irony: follow the four-step quotation-using method exactly for each, using one quotation for each of these two kinds of irony. Your “step four: explain further” step for each will explain what each example of irony does for the story (what response is seen in the average reader.)

2. What is the plot twist at the end? (Explain how Summers plays with the readers’ assumptions)

3. Why must Merna Summers use two different points of view in order for the plot twist to work? How would the story have been different if only one of these narrators had told the story?

4. Make a list of some possible themes explored in The Skating Party. (Your wording of these themes might use terms such as “choices,” “responsibility,” “sacrifice,” “duty,” “romance,” “personal” and so on)

5. There is a clear example of missing information in this story: Uncle Nathan sketches the stone man for Maida, and his sister teasingly suggests that he has “forgotten” something when drawing the “very complete” stone man. What is Summers hinting at here, and how does the drawing Uncle Nathan has made represent Uncle Nathan himself? (How is he like the “incomplete” stone man he has drawn?)

6. The stone man is a physical thing, but it represents something more abstract (not physical). What does it represent/symbolize?

7. Explain how the inclusion of the stone man as a symbol helps make us think about one of the themes you have identified.

8. Given Uncle Nathan’s life and his character, why is the phrase “the sound of old winters was in his voice” particularly appropriate imagery? What effect is it intended to have on the reader?

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Interesting vocabulary words:

sickle subtleties inoculation insensible decrepit rueful rankled

Literary elements focused upon for this story:

symbolism, irony, dual viewpoints, plot

Symbolism – A symbol is usually a physical object that represents something else (something other than just its literal, physical self.) The classic example is a Canadian flag. On its own it's simply a swatch of red and white fabric, but it clearly represents much more than a dishcloth does. The great thing about symbols is that they are so elastic. Nearly anything has the potential to be a symbol and what each one represents is open to broad interpretation. Having said that; some symbols are far more obvious and have a much clearer meaning than others. Most symbols are physical things, representing something that is more of an idea, more abstract, harder to understand without using a symbol to help. Really the only reason the “stone man” is in this story is to function as a symbol (albeit one which helps us understand Uncle Nathan’s character.)

Irony – Irony is when something occurs which is the opposite of what you would expect, given what’s gone on before. It can be a character saying something you would not expect them to, given the truth, who they are, or what has happened (verbal irony). An example would be Paris Hilton telling Stephen Hawking that learning math is very important. Irony can also be seen in an outcome to a situation that is surprising (yet oddly fitting) given the circumstances (situational irony). For example: Dr. Atkins, the creator of the Atkins diet, died of a heart attack, very overweight. See how irony can be funny too? This story has an ironic ending.

Dual Points of View – Simply put, the use of dual (or multiple) points of view is an author choosing to tell a story to the audience from more than one character’s perspective. It's a very good way of keeping a story fresh and surprising, and at the same time revealing things about the characters whose perspective is being used (by way of the things they happen to notice or understand.) This story has two different characters give Maida an account of the same event. We need both stories to get all of the facts.

Plot Structure – Plot is the sequence of events in a story. It usually has five elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The trick is in how these elements are handled in any given story. How is the exposition (information the reader needs to know in order for the story to make sense) handled? Is there a “Basil Exposition” character who tells the reader anything the author needs them to know, or is the exposition a bit more subtle? Are the events told in the order they took place, or is the story non-linear? Different techniques will yield different effects. Where plot is concerned, it's usually a question of how much suspense is generated. Some plots even have twists; unexpected, yet believable events that, if done well, result in a sharp intake of breath on the part of the reader. The ending of this story, besides containing irony, has a twist to it.

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