Breakthrough Writer: 1C Lesson Plan for “Firelight” by Tobias Wolff (185)

March 16, 2008

1C Lesson Plan for “Firelight” by Tobias Wolff (185)

Synopsis: A young boy and his single mother, living an impoverished, transitory existence, look for an upscale apartment, an endeavor that they can't afford but that feeds their fantasies of a better life, and the boy is transfixed by a family whom he idealizes as "perfect." Only far into the future when the boy grows up does he realize that the family, headed by a pompous elephantine professor, is dysfunctional in every grotesque way. He realizes he was projecting his own fantasies and turning the family into a false ideal, an illusion, also called a chimera. The chimera possesses us and intoxicates us with longings of fulfillment but always we crash and find ourselves overcome by REGRET. The story's lesson is that when we elevate our expectations in unrealistic ways, allowing images to triumph over reality, we will inevitably be disillusioned, disenchanted, and DISAPPOINTED.
1. What characterizes the squalor and transitory existence of the mother and son and how does this decrepitude influence their fantasy world? 185, 188
2. Why is shopping so therapeutic to their self-esteem? 186, 187
3. What does the story say about the dangers of the imagination? It’s addictive; it creates illusion of authority, stability, appeal, etc.
4. How does the boy differ from his mother as evidenced at the bottom of page 189 and top of page 190?
5. What is the “stagecraft” of Dr. Avery and his family?192, 193
6. What things other than material goods can become “stagecraft”? The intellect, “culture,” “art,” etc.
7. How does Dr. Avery reveal himself to be a fraud and a hypocrite on page 194?
8. What is the metaphor of the firelight as evidenced on page 195?
9. What is the story’s ambivalent theme toward keeping appearances as evidenced on page 195?
10. How is Dr. Avery a form of “firelight” to his devoted wife? See page 195.
11. Explain the narrator’s adult life.  