1A Lesson for Nadia 71-93

Study Questions for “Nadia” by Judy Budnitz 71

 

1. What evidence is there that the narrator, in spite of her pious, sanctimonious tone, is in fact envious, jealous, and spiteful against Nadia and, in turn, against Joel? Packed popcorn 72; observe her like she’s an animal. Her teeth 73; 77; they use every opportunity to criticize Nadia. 78;
2. What evidence is there that the narrator and her cohorts are needy and frumpy? Their obsession over Joel’s marriage suggests “not having a life.” 72; knowing too many details, like Joel’s earwax levels 72; they ask Joel for too many details about Nadia 73; they keeping asking Joel why he hasn’t had children 77;
3. How does the narrator rely on convoluted “reasoning” to punch a moral jab against Joel on page 76? What makes this type of reasoning so insidious? 77
4. What delusion do they cook-up in order to “save” Joel? 77 He’s unhappy, “frustrated.” No doubt he’s frustrated with these female charlatans. They shift the blame to Nadia when in fact they are grating on Joel’s nerves.
5. Why does the narrator have no credibility when she bloviates about the pieties of suffering on page 178?
6. How does the narrator unwittingly reveal herself a backstabber on page 78?
7. Read the narrator’s description of Nadia on the top of page 79. How does she achieve a tone of condescension, arrogance, and frosty heartlessness?
8. How does the narrator’s malice assert itself on pages 80 and 81? Also see 86.
9. What insidious psychological abuse against Nadia does the narrator use on page  81?
10. How are do-gooders so insidiously evil on page 82? “We’d done it for his own good.”
11. What makes the narrator so impervious to her own evil so that she can destroy others with a clear conscience? 82 bottom, 83.
12. Describe the one truthful moment the narrator has regarding her wretched existence on page 86.
13. In spite of the narrator’s claims to good intentions, what evidence on page 87 suggest that all her actions are motivated by self-interest?
14. How does the narrator and her cohorts suck the life out of Nadia on pages 88 to the end?
15. What infuriating lie do we see on page 91? That they nearly killed Nadia and that it was an “accident.”
16. How do the do-gooders reveal their true character on page 92?

One. Write a one-paragraph profile of the story’s narrator.

Two. Do-Gooder

1.    He confuses naiveté and innocence for virtue
2.    He has high aspirations and zeal to spread goodness or stifle evil but without the expertise creating more harm than good.
3.    He is too simplistic to detect nuance and gray.
4.    He hides his fear of the world behind banal pieties.
5.    When the bloody and gritty world fails to conform to his sentimental utopian fantasy, the do-gooder is compelled to misanthropy. (The teacher who started with high hopes and made students wear tie made of construction paper).

The Six types of Do-Gooders

One: The Misanthrope

Two: The Attention-Getter, Fred in the first grade, the coat

Three: The Western Imperialist (see The Quiet American)

Four: The Bully who joins religious organizations who target the weak, easy targets, books in libraries. They’re hate-mongers.

Five. The Busy Body

Six: The frustrated adolescent (Mike who joined a homeless shelter, never bathed, he felt guilty for having money)

Three. Lexicon

1.    Condescension, condescending 79, 87 bottom, 88 top
2.    Envy, hater 77, 86
3.    Unreliable narrator 80, 82, 92: truth comes out
4.    Lachrymose
5.    Captain Save-A-Babe 74
6.    Woeful dysfunction 74: helpless to the point of being dangerous
7.    Peever 74
8.    Mercedes drivers usually can’t drive
9.    Narcissism, lack of self-awareness, self-absorbed, no empathy, no identity: 74, 75, 77 bottom, 78, 82, 86, 91
10.    Moral inversion of the narcissist 86, 87
11.    Animus against poor: 74
12.    Story’s metaphor 75
13.    Allegory, a symbolic narrative
14.    Needy 76, 86 bottomless pit
15.    Provincial 78
16.    Book smart, street smart (common sense, capable of intimacy)
17.    Schadenfreude 80
18.    Seeking victimization as a form of empowerment 88
19.    Vampire theory of “love” 88, 89

Sample thesis: The narrator of “Nadia” is the consummate narcissist. This is followed by 4 mapping statements.