Monday, July 31, 2006
"The Shot" Notes and Homework Questions
THE SHOT BY ALEXANDER PUSHKIN
NOTES
THE SHOT
BY ALEXANDER POUSHKIN
THE AUTHOR WAS BORN 1799 AND DIED 1837.
HE IS RUSSIAN.
HE WROTE POEMS, PLAYS, NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES.
HE WAS BORN IN MOSCOW INTO A NOBLE FAMILY.
HE HELD AN OFFICIAL POST (1817) IN THE GOVERNMENT BUT WAS ALSO PART OF AN UNDERGROUND REVOLUTIONARY GROUP.
HE DIED IN 1837 FROM WOUNDS HE SUFFERED IN A DUEL WHICH HE FOUGHT IN ST. PETERSBURG.
THE STORY LINE
THIS IS CONSIDERED A DOUBLE STORY WHICH IS A STORY WITHIN A STORY
BELKIN IS AN OUTGOING, EVEN-TEMPERED ARMY OFFICER WHO COMMITS TO PAPER MUCH OF WHAT OTHERS TELL HIM.
THIS STORY IS TOLD TO HIM BY A LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
SILVIO IS THE MAIN CHARACTER, AND ALL ARE AWED BY HIM.
SILVIO IS A GENEROUS MAN WHO RETIRED YOUNG AND LIVES ON AN UNCERTAIN INCOME.
HIS SKILL AT PISTOL SHOOTING TAKES ON LEGENDARY PROPORTIONS.
HE CAN SHOOT A FLY FROM ACROSS THE ROOM
THE RUMOR IS THAT SILVIO IS TROUBLED BY SOME PAST DUELING INCIDENT.
SILVIO’S STORY IS ABOUT A WEALTHY COUNT WHO IS INVOLVED IN A DUEL WITH SILVIO.
THE STORY ALSO INVOLVES THE COUNT’S WIFE, MASHA.
SILVIO WILL TELL US HIS STORY—AND AS FIVE YEARS PAST THE READER WILL HEAR THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY.
THEMES AND METHODS
THE STORY HAS A MELODRAMATIC QUALITY.
THE ACTION OF THE STORY DEPENDS UPON COINCIDENCES.
SILVIO APPEARS TO BE THE EMBODIMENT OF CERTAIN VIRTUES.
MYSTERY SHROUDS MUCH OF SILVIO’S PAST.
SILVIO DISMISSES AN OFFFICER WHO HAS OFFENDED HIM IN THE STORY.
SILVIO’S CONCSIENCE IS TROUBLED BY MEMORIES OF AN OPPONENT WHO REDICULED THE FEARS OF DUELING
THE DUEL WAS TO BE OF HONOR AND ISREGARD FOR PERSONAL SAFETY.
SILVIO FINALLY DIED AS A MERCENARY SOLDIER, FIGHTING FOR THE LIBERATION OF GREECE.
STYLE AND TECHNIQUE
THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STORY IS THE AUTHOR’S ABILITY TO BRING TOGETHER SEVERAL POINTS OF VIEW AND JOIN STORIES TOGETHER FROM YEARS APART INTO A SINGLE NARRATIVE WITH ITS OWN INTERNAL LOGIC.
CHARACTERIZATION SHOWS QUALITIES OF RECKLESS VALOR
SILVIO IS UNCOMMUNICATIVE AND MOODY, POSSESSING DARK AND BROODING QUALITIES.
THE NARRATOR IS OUTGOING.
THE COUNT HAS BALANCED MATURITY.
THE BASIC THEME IS INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT
• “The Shot” is from the book called THE TALES OF THE LATE IVAN PETROVICH BELKIN.
Belkin is a land-owner, who in his boredom writes down true stories that he has heard during his life.
• A relative finds these stories after Belkin’s death and sends them to a publisher.
• “The Shot” is a story of malice and revenge, and how it destroys the life of a man despite his momentary satisfaction.
HOMEWORK: DUE THE DAY AFTER WE COMPLETE THE STORY.
THE SHOT by Alexander Pushkin
A. Briefly answer the following questions
1. What is the practice of dueling?
2. Is there a time that dueling would be justified in today’s society?
3. On page 83, paragraph 2, there are tow examples of foreshadowing. What are they?
4. Why does the narrator say that he cannot approach Silvio on the old footing (p. 84)?
5. What “souvenir” is left of Silvio’s fight with his drunken opponent (p. 86)?
6. How does Silvio react to competition, and what is the result (p. 87)?
7. What happens in the “duel,” and what does Silvio’s opponent say (p. 87)? Quote the lines.
8. When Siovio goes to the Count’s house several years later, what “souvenir” does he leave the Count?
9. In your opinion, what is the author’s attitude toward duels as a way of settling arguments? Support you answer with references to the story.
B. Continue answering the questions.
1. What is the setting?
2. Who are the characters? Please describe each character.
3. Describe the plot.
4. What is the climax of the story?
5. What is the resolution or conclusion of the story?
C. If the italicized word is used correctly, write “C”. If not, write “I”.
1. The two officers fought a ling and bloody duel.
2. The old gentleman was attacked by two assailants.
3. John puntered around the golf course.
4. A shy, quiet person is likely to be boisterous.
5. Her pallor revealed her fear of snakes.
D. Write true or false for each of the following statements.
1. Silvio’s principal amusement appears to be shooting with his pistol.
2. One of Silvio’s “souvenirs” from a duel is a bullet hole in his red hat.
3. Silvio receives a letter from Moscow and makes plans to go there to encounter his former assailant.
4. Silvio kills the Count and then leaves after firing two bullets into a painting.
5. The narrator meets Silvio a year later.
E. Write a sentence for each of the following words. Sentences must reflect the story.
6. sullenness
7. surplus
8. chastise
9. supremacy
10. caustic
NOTES
THE SHOT
BY ALEXANDER POUSHKIN
THE AUTHOR WAS BORN 1799 AND DIED 1837.
HE IS RUSSIAN.
HE WROTE POEMS, PLAYS, NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES.
HE WAS BORN IN MOSCOW INTO A NOBLE FAMILY.
HE HELD AN OFFICIAL POST (1817) IN THE GOVERNMENT BUT WAS ALSO PART OF AN UNDERGROUND REVOLUTIONARY GROUP.
HE DIED IN 1837 FROM WOUNDS HE SUFFERED IN A DUEL WHICH HE FOUGHT IN ST. PETERSBURG.
THE STORY LINE
THIS IS CONSIDERED A DOUBLE STORY WHICH IS A STORY WITHIN A STORY
BELKIN IS AN OUTGOING, EVEN-TEMPERED ARMY OFFICER WHO COMMITS TO PAPER MUCH OF WHAT OTHERS TELL HIM.
THIS STORY IS TOLD TO HIM BY A LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
SILVIO IS THE MAIN CHARACTER, AND ALL ARE AWED BY HIM.
SILVIO IS A GENEROUS MAN WHO RETIRED YOUNG AND LIVES ON AN UNCERTAIN INCOME.
HIS SKILL AT PISTOL SHOOTING TAKES ON LEGENDARY PROPORTIONS.
HE CAN SHOOT A FLY FROM ACROSS THE ROOM
THE RUMOR IS THAT SILVIO IS TROUBLED BY SOME PAST DUELING INCIDENT.
SILVIO’S STORY IS ABOUT A WEALTHY COUNT WHO IS INVOLVED IN A DUEL WITH SILVIO.
THE STORY ALSO INVOLVES THE COUNT’S WIFE, MASHA.
SILVIO WILL TELL US HIS STORY—AND AS FIVE YEARS PAST THE READER WILL HEAR THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY.
THEMES AND METHODS
THE STORY HAS A MELODRAMATIC QUALITY.
THE ACTION OF THE STORY DEPENDS UPON COINCIDENCES.
SILVIO APPEARS TO BE THE EMBODIMENT OF CERTAIN VIRTUES.
MYSTERY SHROUDS MUCH OF SILVIO’S PAST.
SILVIO DISMISSES AN OFFFICER WHO HAS OFFENDED HIM IN THE STORY.
SILVIO’S CONCSIENCE IS TROUBLED BY MEMORIES OF AN OPPONENT WHO REDICULED THE FEARS OF DUELING
THE DUEL WAS TO BE OF HONOR AND ISREGARD FOR PERSONAL SAFETY.
SILVIO FINALLY DIED AS A MERCENARY SOLDIER, FIGHTING FOR THE LIBERATION OF GREECE.
STYLE AND TECHNIQUE
THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STORY IS THE AUTHOR’S ABILITY TO BRING TOGETHER SEVERAL POINTS OF VIEW AND JOIN STORIES TOGETHER FROM YEARS APART INTO A SINGLE NARRATIVE WITH ITS OWN INTERNAL LOGIC.
CHARACTERIZATION SHOWS QUALITIES OF RECKLESS VALOR
SILVIO IS UNCOMMUNICATIVE AND MOODY, POSSESSING DARK AND BROODING QUALITIES.
THE NARRATOR IS OUTGOING.
THE COUNT HAS BALANCED MATURITY.
THE BASIC THEME IS INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT
• “The Shot” is from the book called THE TALES OF THE LATE IVAN PETROVICH BELKIN.
Belkin is a land-owner, who in his boredom writes down true stories that he has heard during his life.
• A relative finds these stories after Belkin’s death and sends them to a publisher.
• “The Shot” is a story of malice and revenge, and how it destroys the life of a man despite his momentary satisfaction.
HOMEWORK: DUE THE DAY AFTER WE COMPLETE THE STORY.
THE SHOT by Alexander Pushkin
A. Briefly answer the following questions
1. What is the practice of dueling?
2. Is there a time that dueling would be justified in today’s society?
3. On page 83, paragraph 2, there are tow examples of foreshadowing. What are they?
4. Why does the narrator say that he cannot approach Silvio on the old footing (p. 84)?
5. What “souvenir” is left of Silvio’s fight with his drunken opponent (p. 86)?
6. How does Silvio react to competition, and what is the result (p. 87)?
7. What happens in the “duel,” and what does Silvio’s opponent say (p. 87)? Quote the lines.
8. When Siovio goes to the Count’s house several years later, what “souvenir” does he leave the Count?
9. In your opinion, what is the author’s attitude toward duels as a way of settling arguments? Support you answer with references to the story.
B. Continue answering the questions.
1. What is the setting?
2. Who are the characters? Please describe each character.
3. Describe the plot.
4. What is the climax of the story?
5. What is the resolution or conclusion of the story?
C. If the italicized word is used correctly, write “C”. If not, write “I”.
1. The two officers fought a ling and bloody duel.
2. The old gentleman was attacked by two assailants.
3. John puntered around the golf course.
4. A shy, quiet person is likely to be boisterous.
5. Her pallor revealed her fear of snakes.
D. Write true or false for each of the following statements.
1. Silvio’s principal amusement appears to be shooting with his pistol.
2. One of Silvio’s “souvenirs” from a duel is a bullet hole in his red hat.
3. Silvio receives a letter from Moscow and makes plans to go there to encounter his former assailant.
4. Silvio kills the Count and then leaves after firing two bullets into a painting.
5. The narrator meets Silvio a year later.
E. Write a sentence for each of the following words. Sentences must reflect the story.
6. sullenness
7. surplus
8. chastise
9. supremacy
10. caustic
# posted by Sister Pat / English @ 6:20 AM 
