Details. What is the intensifying worth of the sundial? Of the buzzing bee? A second line of interest may be said to lie in the music theme, which intensifies the line of the love interest and Mark’s interest in Miss Allison.
Do you feel jarred or pleased by the shift to Allison’s angle (in her letter, page 204)?
Does Mark too easily come across the daguerreotype, or does the casual manner of his finding it fit into the smooth and leisurely progress of the story?
Why is the picture of Allison “standing by the tall mantle in the candle-light” one that lingers? Why does one remember the picture of Beatrix (in “Henry Esmond”) coming down the stairs in white, with cherry colored ribbons, holding the candle in her hand?
Do the letters of William strike you as having been composed by a man or a woman? Why?
ZELIG
Classification. “Zelig” is a character story, with decided emphasis on the character. There is just enough plot to lift it from the realm of the sketch into that of the narrative.
Plot. The struggle lies in Zelig’s attempt to save sufficient money for returning to Russia. It is unsuccessful.
What is the initial impulse, the first hint of a story motive?
The dramatic climax is preceded by a minor one: the death of Zelig’s son. The real turning point, the dramatic climax, is made up of the wife’s statements (page 224), the most important of which is the reference to the son’s death.