Once Upon a Time

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Consider the concept of fear throughout the story.

• How do the characters react when they are faced with fear? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2 passages in which the characters act out of fear and discuss the results of those actions.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, draw a larger conclusion about how fear impacts people’s choices.

2. Consider the structure of Gordimer’s story as a frame narrative.

• How does the narrator’s introduction relate to the “bedtime story” she tells herself? (topic sentence)
• Using one excerpt from the beginning frame (Paragraphs 1-8) and one excerpt from the story itself (Paragraphs 9-18), examine a connection you see.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how the connection you identified relates to the theme of South Africa’s Mining Industry, Exploitation, and Personal Wealth.