Okay, we’ve got some prompts for McNally’s “Price of Pain.” The first two, marked with an asterisk, are mandatory. We’ll definitely use these in class. The final three questions are optional. You can address them to fill out your 750, or if you like this story and want to generate more material for your upcoming essay.
* Timeline
Make a timeline of the turning points in the story. For each point in your timeline, write about why it’s a turning point (what changes? why is it important?).
*Trace the pain
List all the different kinds of pain in this story. Categorize them (physical, emotional, etc.). Do any of Hank’s pains change or evolve through the course of the story?
Optional Prompts
“Nobody said or did anything, and I saw that whatever was going to happen hinged on my next move” (48). Why does Hank choose to do what he does? What does it say about him? Does it represent a change in his character?
” . . . because suddenly I was the one who felt like crying.” Hank may not know why he felt like crying, but why do you think he did? Support your opinion with evidence from the text.
How are Hank and Roark similar? What unites them?