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Unit 1 Study Guide

"from 'Three Dirges,'" an excerpt from Marshall Bennett Connelly's Requiem Guatemala provides students of modern literature an object lesson in the analysis of a broad range of literary technique in the treatment of historical materials of contemporary significance.  Image patterns, symbol complexes, distinctive conflict, and experimental treatments of the use of time and perspective make possible a useful introduction to the analysis of literature.

Readings

When You Write About Literature
Sample Academic Essay on Short Fiction

Study Questions

1) Reconstruct the shifts in the three periods of time that divide the narration of the story.  Explain how the shifts in time foreshadow the tragic events that culminate in the story.
2) Explain how shifts in perspective (camera angles) complement the horrific implications of auditory images in the final paragraph.
3) Compare the literary styles of Connelly's narrative with the expository reporting of the historical circumstances behind the story as related in Penny Lernoux's excerpt from People of God.  What does Connelly gain through the literary adaptation of the Guatemalan tragedy?

Key Concepts

The Maupassantian short story
"from 'Three Dirges'" represents a type of short story made popular in the late nineteenth century by such American writers as Ambrose Bierce and O'Henry, and French short-story writer, Guy de Maupassant, whose works have come to characterize the "Maupassantian short story."  These stories feature unexpected or ironic endings, projecting narrative line as the dominant literary element. 

Historical Fiction
Connelly's story is representative, as well, of what is termed "historical" or "topical" literature, incorporating key elements of historical events and characters.
 

This page was last modified on January 17, 2006,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey A. Grimes.