"Three Girls" by Joyce Carol Oates

Question 1

Exposition

Answer 1

1. Setting: 1956 in a used book store

2. Character Development: girls are poets; girls feel different from others

Question 2

Inciting Incident

Answer 2

begin to follow Marilyn Monroe

Question 3

Rising Action

Answer 3

Building tension “chasing” Marilyn Monroe

Question 4

climax

Answer 4

changing moment: the moment Marilyn Monroe acknowledges the girl’s existence; it makes them feel free to be who they are

Question 5

falling action

Answer 5

continue to follow Marilyn Monroe

Question 6

Resolution

Answer 6

the girls feel comfortable about being different

Question 7

hidden nature of the plot

Answer 7

the plot of the story is about hiding identities; the girls are hiding theirs just as Marilyn Monroe is trying to hide hers. So it makes sense for the author to hid the plot behind chasing Marilyn Monroe

Question 8

to analyze plot

Answer 8

look not for the elements, but for how the elements work together to reveal a bigger picture

Question 9

the concept that all of the characters are hiding something is the

Answer 9

theme

Question 10

how does the author build suspense?

Answer 10

the plot builds suspense with questions and uncertainties. Is it really Marilyn? Will she be caught?

Question 11

the resolution of the story is that the two poets

Answer 11

accepting the reality of their experience at the Strand

Question 12

what does this excerpt show?

For a breathless moment we thought she might….

Answer 12

Marilyn Monroe’s gratitude to the girls for preserving her animosity

Question 13

what are some elements that worked together in this text to develop the theme?

Answer 13

setting, characterization, and conflict