Mistral uses questions repeatedly throughout the poem. What emotional effect do these repeated questions create?

Locate passages in which the first-person narrator also functions as an omniscient, or all-knowing, narrator. How would you characterize the narrator? Why do you think Cather chose a male rather than a female narrator to tell this story?

What words are repeated frequently throughout the speech? What effect does this repetition create?

What did Dr. Flint assume Jacobs would try to do?

Does the harsh surprise ending hint that the real story is the one that remains untold? What aspects of Richard Cory's life are not mentioned? How might these hidden or overlooked areas account for his fate?

Summarize Twain's overall purpose in this essay. How would you characterize that purpose-as noble, childish, useless, realistic? Give reasons for your opinion.