(a) What does Aaron want to convince his mother to do?

(b) What are his motivations for wanting her to do it?

Most plots develop around a conflict, a struggle between opposing forces. An external conflict is a struggle between a character and an outside force, such as another character, society, nature, or fate. An internal conflict takes place within the mind of a character who struggles with opposing feelings.

How does the use of flashback help develop the conflict in the story?

An allegory has two levels of meaning. There is a literal level, which is the story, or the events of the plot. There is also a symbolic level, which is what the events mean. In an allegory, the story is less important than the message it conveys.

What happens on the symbolic level of the story? In other words, tell what the major events of the plot symbolize or represent.

(a) What news does the Mandarin learn about Kwan-Si at the beginning of the story?

(b) Why is this bad news?

The author's purpose is the author's goals or intentions in creating a work.

Why do you think Harte includes the final details about the narrator's life after Jones?

(a) Describe the setting of the story. Include details about daily life, as well as about people's ideas and values at the time.

(b) What can you infer about life on the Moon from the setting's details?

The narrator and his colleagues assume that there has never been intelligent life on the Moon. Later in the story, they are shocked to learn otherwise. Explain the assumptions that led characters to make the following conclusions.

The narrator concludes that the aliens will come to Earth in the near future.

After identifying the contemporary issues connected to the story, you can determine what the author's message is in regard to those issues. The author usually reveals his or her criticism or opinion through the events of the story. For example, if a story about people and technology ends with the technology saving the people, the author probably thinks that technology is good for society.

Based on what happens in the story, what action do you think Hoshi would want us to take in order to prevent the catastrophe created by the villagers in the story?

Dialogue reveals characters' personalities through their words. It can also serve to increase the drama of a story and call attention to important themes.

At what point in the story does the dialogue create a moment of drama or high tension? Explain.

(a) Why is Poirot not physically present during most of the story?

(b) Why do you think Christie chose to exclude him in this way?

(a)What is the villagers' first reaction to the hole?

(b) Why do the villagers try to measure the hole?

Authors use a variety of techniques to create suspense in their work. One technique is the use of foreshadowing, which provides clues to future events and allows readers to make guesses about the outcome.

Several times in the story, the narrator says that he and others believed that nothing "strange or unusual" would be found on top of the mountain and that intelligent life had never existed on the Moon. Why might these statements be considered foreshadowing of discoveries to come? What do they add to the overall suspensefulness of the story?

What are some physical characteristics of the Bili apes?

(a)What mystery does Hemlock Jones set out to solve?

(b) What advice does the narrator provide? What does Jones think of this advice?