(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/shortstories%20annie%20proulx%20steer/annieproulx.jpg) | - Annie Proulx has twice won the O. Henry Prize for the year's best short story. In 1998, she won for "Brokeback Mountain" (http://www.taosmemory.com/oscar/BrokebackMountainNovle.pdf) which had appeared in The New Yorker in 1997. Proulx won again the following year for "The Mud Below," which appeared in The New Yorker in 1999. Annie Proulx’s The Half-Skinned Steer (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/11/the-half-skinned-steer/306168/?single_page=true) was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in November 1997. This story also inspired her to write Close Range: Wyoming Stories (1999), in which "The Half-Skinned Steer" was included as the lead story and was selected by author Garrison Keillor for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories in 1998. By the time it was published, Proulx was already famous for another collection of short stories and three novels, including The Shipping News (1993), which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Proulx has noted that The Half-Skinned Steer (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/11/the-half-skinned-steer/306168/?single_page=true) is "based on an old Icelandic folktale, 'Porgeir's Bull,' with themes of revenge which demonstrate how 'old' thinking can slow progress and resurrect long-forgotten grievances." She adapts this idea in "The Half-Skinned Steer" to show how behaviours, grievances, and lack of persistence in our ancestors can also be inherited and "dragged around." |
1. The author tells us that she has adapted this story from an Icelandic folktale, which demonstrates how ancestors' behaviours and lack of persistance can be inherited and dragged around." Do you understand why Mero must drag the guilt for Tin Head's behaviour so many years before? Do you remember Tin Head's relationship to Mero and his brother, Rollo? 2. Why is Mero returning now that his brother has died? Were they close? What is he expecting to find? Does he seem to want to settle unfinished business? 3. If the steer is a symbol, what does he symbolize? Roaming around like this - not seen again...until Mero returns. Do you see a parallel between Mero and the Steer? 4. Do we need to consider Tin Head's part in the story? He never finishes a job, only skins the steer halfway. Is the fact that he removed the steer's tongue significant? Is the half-completed job the reason for the steer's outrage and determination for revenge? 5. Have you decided whether Mero ever did back it back to funeral...or is his situation too overwhelming to overcome? DL Contact: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) |
The book's opening quote is: "Reality's never been of much use out here."
Retired Wyoming Rancher"
"I hope the next stories have some humor that appeals to me."Sally, we've been considering short stories through the years...and it seems that once we came to the 50's, the humor has become "dark" as you describe it - edgier. I'm wondering if this is true of most short stories, or simply those selected by our readers? Is it the genre? I would really be interested to know that. Or are there other stories being written today in the 21st century which you all would find more appealing, uplifting? Shall we ALL try to find others that you might prefer to discuss in July? The only requirement is that they are available to read online.
"Seems to me the steer is a symbol - a ghost "Barbara
Good thought, Pat...environmental or even anti animals for food...hence, Mero is vegetarian?Anyone who wants to say the story is propaganda for vegetarianism can find plenty of ammunition.
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/shortstories%20annie%20proulx%20steer/annieproulx.jpg) | - Annie Proulx has twice won the O. Henry Prize for the year's best short story. In 1998, she won for "Brokeback Mountain" (http://www.taosmemory.com/oscar/BrokebackMountainNovle.pdf) which had appeared in The New Yorker in 1997. Proulx won again the following year for "The Mud Below," which appeared in The New Yorker in 1999. Annie Proulx’s The Half-Skinned Steer (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/11/the-half-skinned-steer/306168/?single_page=true) was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in November 1997. This story also inspired her to write Close Range: Wyoming Stories (1999), in which "The Half-Skinned Steer" was included as the lead story and was selected by author Garrison Keillor for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories in 1998. By the time it was published, Proulx was already famous for another collection of short stories and three novels, including The Shipping News (1993), which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Proulx has noted that The Half-Skinned Steer (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/11/the-half-skinned-steer/306168/?single_page=true) is "based on an old Icelandic folktale, 'Porgeir's Bull,' with themes of revenge which demonstrate how 'old' thinking can slow progress and resurrect long-forgotten grievances." She adapts this idea in "The Half-Skinned Steer" to show how behaviours, grievances, and lack of persistence in our ancestors can also be inherited and "dragged around." |
1. The author tells us that she has adapted this story from an Icelandic folktale, which demonstrates how ancestors' behaviours and lack of persistance can be inherited and dragged around." Do you understand why Mero must drag the guilt for Tin Head's behaviour so many years before? Do you remember Tin Head's relationship to Mero and his brother, Rollo? 2. Why is Mero returning now that his brother has died? Were they close? What is he expecting to find? Does he seem to want to settle unfinished business? 3. If the steer is a symbol, what does he symbolize? Roaming around like this - not seen again...until Mero returns. Do you see a parallel between Mero and the Steer? 4. Do we need to consider Tin Head's part in the story? He never finishes a job, only skins the steer halfway. Is the fact that he removed the steer's tongue significant? Is the half-completed job the reason for the steer's outrage and determination for revenge? 5. Have you decided whether Mero ever did back it back to funeral...or is his situation too overwhelming to overcome? DL Contact: JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net) |