BITTER-SWEET
1. Note the introduction, a characteristic of all of Fannie Hurst's stories. What purpose does it serve here? What trait of Gertie's is brought out? Is this important to the story?
2. From the paragraph on page 139 beginning "It was into the trickle of the last——" select examples that show the author's skill in the use of words. What other instances of this do you note in the story?
3. Read the sketch of the author. What episode in her life gave her material for parts of this story?
4. Notice how skillfully the conversation is handled. The opening situation developes itself entirely through dialogue, yet in a perfectly natural way. It is almost like a play rather than a story. If it were dramatized, how many scenes would it make?
5. What does the title mean? Does the author give us the key to its meaning?
6. What do you think of Gertie as you read the first part of the conversation in the restaurant? Does your opinion of her change at the end of the story? Has her character changed?
7. Is the ending of the story artistic? Why mention the time-clock? What had Gertie said about it?
8. State in three or four words the central idea of the story. Is it true to life?
9. What is the meaning of these words: atavism; penumbra; semaphore; astigmatic; insouciance; mise-en-scene; kinetic?
10. Other books of stories dealing with life in New York City are The Four Million, and The Voice of the City, by O. Henry; Van Bibber and Others, by Richard Harding Davis; Every Soul Hath Its Song, by Fannie Hurst; Doctor Rast, by James Oppenheim.