5. What are the author’s chief means of keeping suspense?
6. What ends do Squirmy’s nightly exercises serve?
7. Would it have added to the interest of the study to have Alice more fully characterized? Why is she introduced?
THE WAY OF LIFE
LUCY HUFFAKER is a short-story writer of distinction, who has recently been devoting her principal interest to the drama. She is connected with the Washington Square players in New York City.
In the short space of a May evening, Emmeline Black, mother of eight children, a good wife for a farmer, careful and industrious, lives through her girlhood aspirations and the complete shattering of her dreams. Finally, there comes to her the greater tragedy of the realization that, in spite of what she can do, her daughter faces the same career of fantasy and disillusionment. For the first time in twenty-one years, Jake Black finds his wife different, almost a bit untractable. Yet he can find no solution for the problem. 'Em' has been a good wife, their marriage has been successful, his daughter’s possible engagement augurs well for the future; but 'Em' is worried about something. It is the daughter herself who sets their small world aright. Her gratitude for the dreams her mother has given her brings to Emmeline the realization of the value of inspiration where accomplishment proves impossible. The years of hard work before her, and the prospect of a similar life for her daughter, grow insignificant before the new consciousness that dreams do last.
Suggested Points for Study and Comment
1. Comment on the general atmosphere produced by the opening paragraphs.
2. What descriptive details contribute particularly to the realism of the scene?