1.

Have you attended a ‘grown-up’ event with your

parents when you were a tween? What was it like?
Did you enjoy the experience? Why was it
particularly memorable?
 2. Recall a childhood experience that somehow
introduced you to adult issues and concerns like
relationships, love or sexuality.
In what way is it a significant childhood memory?
Has your perception of these adult themes changed
or evolved over the years?
Alice Munro, original name Alice Ann Laidlaw,
(born July 10, 1931, Wingham, Ontario, Canada),
Canadian short-story writer who gained internatio
nal recognition with her exquisitely drawn narrativ
es. The Swedish Academy dubbed her a “master
of the contemporary short story” when it awarded
her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. Munro’
s work was noted for its precise imagery and narr
ative style, which is at once lyrical, compelling, e
conomical, and intense, revealing the depth and
complexities in the emotional lives of everyday p
eople.
 Munro was raised on what she called “this collapsing ente
rprise of a fox and mink farm, just beyond the most disreputable
part of town.” Her mother, a teacher, played a significant role in
her life, as did her great-aunt and her grandmother. She attended
the University of Western Ontario but left after two years of
studying English and journalism. At age 20, in 1951, she married
her first husband, James Munro, and moved to Vancouver. She
moved again in 1963 to Victoria, where the couple started a book
store and together raised three daughters. After her first marriage
ended in 1972, she returned to Ontario and settled in Clinton,
near her childhood home, where she lived with her second
husband (married 1976).
a genre of literature, film, and video that focuses on the gr
owth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood.
-tends to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over
action, and are often set in the past.
-The subjects of coming-of-age stories are typically teena
gers. The Bildungsroman is a specific subgenre of coming
-of-age story.
-may be said to show its young protagonist experiencing
a significant change of knowledge about the world or hi
mself, or a change of character, or of both, and this chan
ge must point or lead him towards an adult world.
-worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and
lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most sev
ere depression ever experienced by the industrialized
Western world, sparking fundamental changes in econo
mic institutions, macroeconomic policy, and economic
theory.
Temperament – the combination of mental and emotional traits of a per
son
Euchre – a card game usually played with the 32 highest cards in the dec
k
Bridge (game) – a card game in which one partnership plays to fulfill a
certain declaration against an opposing partnership
Affronted – Insulted deliberately
Desecration / desecrate – to treat with sacrilege (violation of somethin
g sacred)
Prodigious – arousing admiration or amazement
Sulk – to remain silent or aloof in an ill-humoured manner
Dispute– a controversy or difference of opinion
Coronet – a crown-like ornament for the head
Ridicule – speech or action intended to cause contemptuous laught
er or derision
Lavish – bestowed or occurring in abundance
Brazen – shameless or impudent
Erotic – arousing or satisfying sexual desire
1. Who is the narrator of the story? In what way is she different and similar to
other girls her age?
2. Describe the characteristics of the narrator’s mother and father
3. Describe the attitude of the narrator towards her mother and father. Who
does she empathize with more and why?
4. What are the narrator thoughts and questions about the community dance
s she and her mother attended in the past? How does the fact that this stor
y happened during the Great Depression shed light on this issue?
5. Note the setting of the story. In what way is it both specific and universal?
6. The reason for Peggy’s distress in the story is not clear. What d
o you think happened?
7. Relate the ending of the story with the story’s title—”Voices”
8. How does the narrator’s experience at the dance affect her?
9. Explain how the story shows a young girl’s emergence from the
innocence of childhood to the world of intimacy, relationships, an
d sexuality?
10. This story belongs to the coming-of-age or ‘initiation story’ ge
nre. Identify elements in the story that qualify it as such.
•Psychological loss of innocence of the protagonist (age 10-20)
•Confrontation with the adult world
•Moral challenges
•Individual needs and desires vs. external pressures/expectation
s/norms
•Failure/disappointment/awake to limitations
•Acceptance of the complexities and “grayness” of the world
•Awareness of the Self
1. When or how did the protagonist loss her innocence?

2. What are the moral challenges present in the movie?

3. What is the biggest failure of the protagonist and how does she de
alt with it?

4. Explain how should a teenager act in the society today?

5. How will you achieved self-awareness?

Letter writing: Using the perspective of one character in the
story, write a letter to another character. Some possibilities are:

A. a letter to Peggy from the ten-year old narrator

b. a letter to narrator’s mother from one of the guests at
the dance
c. a letter to the town mayor from the narrator’s mother
d. a letter to the narrator to her best friend
e. a letter to an ‘Agony Aunt’ asking for advice
Dear Agony Aunt,

Please can you help-I don't know what to do. I go to secondary school but I hat
e it and I don't want to go. Every day I wake up and feel sick at the thought
of what the day will bring. The problem is that the people in my class bully me.
They call me names and sometimes they push me. I've had my dinner
money stolen and last week someone took my homework and put their name
on it. I then got a detention for not doing it!! I don't understand why
they are being so horrible and I really want it to stop. Please please help

From: Sarah in Leeds