Willa Cather: "A Wagner Matinee" - Regionalism, Point of View

Question 1

note

Answer 1

• first person (perspective of a narrator that is participating in events of the story)
• third person-limited (perspective of a narrator that is only able to observe and comment on the story)
• third person-omniscient (perspective of narrator that is able to see and comment on ALL aspects of the story)
• regionalism (local writers create vivid portrayals of their own regions)

Question 2

in the underlined passage from paragraph 6 of “a wagner matinee,” willa cather highlights the isolation and desolation of the Nebraska prairie by

Answer 2

juxtaposing the harshness of prairie life with the elegance of refined education

Question 3

in the underlined passage from paragraph 23 of “a wagner matinee,” willa cather is using _____ to paint a picture of the Nebraska prairie

Answer 3

vivid description

Question 4

in the underlined passage from paragraph 21 of “a wagner matinee,” willa cather compares

Answer 4

boston to nebraska, city life to farm life, the empty opera stage to a winter cornfield

Question 5

willa cather creates a vivid picture of the nebraska prairie region in a “wagner matinee” by using the technique of

Answer 5

juxtaposition and contrast

Question 6

willa cather’s “a wagner matinee” is written from the __________ point of view

Answer 6

first person

Question 7

in the underlined passage from paragraph 10 and 11 of “a wagner matinee,” willa cather contrasts

Answer 7

the variation and color of the boston opera house with the monotonous fields of corn on the prairie

Question 8

the narrator uses water and rain to describe aunt georgiana’s response to the wagner music in paragraphs 19 and 20 “a wagner matinee” with words like

Answer 8

deluge of sound poured on; aunt wept…continuously, as a shallow vessel overflows in a rain-storm

Question 9

“a wagner matinee” is told from the viewpoint of

Answer 9

clark

Question 10

in paragraph 7 of “a wagner matinee” the narrator learns that aunt georgiana is so consumed by her life on the prairie that all she can think about is

Answer 10

the calf that needs half-skimmed milk and the mackerel that needs to be used directly

Question 11

why does the narrator understand what aunt georgiana is feeling after the wagner matinee

Answer 11

the narrator has been in both of her worlds