Republic of the Philippines

TANAUAN INSTITUTE INCORPORATED

Batangas City
Senior High School Department

Name: Justine Lance De Luna Grade and Section: FnB 11-

A
Subject: 21st Century Literature Date: November 14,
2022
Activity#: Voices by Alice Munro
1. Who is the narrator of the story? In what way is she different and
similar to other girls her age?
The protagonist and narrator of the story "Dear Life" is Alice Munro. The story
is about Munro comparing her life to other young girls, particularly her mother.
Munro demonstrates how life's challenges transcend generations by stating in the
story, "My father, who was much better liked than my mother," that a man's life was
superior to a woman's life at the time. She is like other girls because she is an
extremely perceptive young girl.
2. Describe the other characters in the story, particularly the narrator’s
mother and father.
Munro's mother has always enjoyed dancing, and when she was younger, she
would have wished to attend the dances held in the farmhouses and schoolhouses.
Her mother had overcome her life as a farm girl to become a teacher, but she does
not feel the respect or acceptance in the town that she had anticipated. While
Munro's father was a man who thought you should accept what you were given.
3. Describe the attitude of the narrator towards her mother and father.
Who does she sympathize with more and why?
The narrator views her mother as overly grammatical and ignorant and feels
that she doesn't interact or connect with her mother enough. She also believes that
sometimes she condemns her mother's actions and the things that her mother does.
While the narrator has a more forgiving attitude toward her father, she also feels a
stronger connection to him and more sympathy for him. Because her father is more
respectable than her mother, the narrator feels more sympathy for him.
4. What are the narrator’s thoughts and questions about the community
dances she and her mother attended in the past? How does the fact that
this story happened during the Great Depression shed light on this issue?
The narrator's thoughts and questions about the community dances are that,
if they are free or require payment, how did people find time for these dances, how
did people have money for the dances, and how did the people look opulent and
fancy when they are all so poor. The fact that the author or narrator was pondering
and expressing interest in the refreshments by asking, "And were the refreshments
really as lavish as I remember? With everybody so poor?” It conveys the message
that nobody has enough money during the Great Depression.
 Republic of the Philippines
TANAUAN INSTITUTE INCORPORATED
Batangas City
Senior High School Department

5. Note the setting of the story. In what way is it both specific and
universal?

It is both specific and universal because this story happened in real life
and I think that the other reader will relate to this kind of story. The genre and
theme surprise us and the story continue chapter by chapter with a
masterpiece plot twist.
6. The reason for Peggy’s distress in the story is not clear. What do you
think happened?
The author assumed that Peggy might have been scolded by an elderly
woman, which is why the two soldiers consoled her rather than punishing the person
who made Peggy cry. This is the reason for Peggy's sadness in the story because
she was reprimanded by an older person.
7. Relate the ending if the story with the story title- “Voices”
It is connected to the title of the story, "Voices," because the narrator had
fantasized that she was Peggy and that she was the one comforting the two soldiers.
She revered the soldiers' words because they proved that the writer deserved to be
loved.
8. How does the narrator’s experience at the dance affect her?
she is exposed to life, she is very interested in her surroundings, she
somehow knows, and she is introduced to the different emotions that adults only
experience temporarily.
9. Explain how the story shows a young girl’s emergence from the
innocence of childhood to the world of intimacy, relationships, and
sexuality?
By revealing that the young girl was initially truly innocent and had no
experience with these kinds of emotions, the story illustrates how a young girl
transitions from the innocence of childhood to the world of intimacy, relationships,
and sexuality. By observing the dances of her mother's community, the young girl
discovered how soothing a man's voice could be and was made aware of how
romantic men and women could be with one another.
 Republic of the Philippines
TANAUAN INSTITUTE INCORPORATED
Batangas City
Senior High School Department

10. This story belongs to the coming-of-age or ‘initiation story’ genre.

Identify elements in the story that qualify it as such.

The elements in the story that qualify it as such are plot, setting,
characters, point of view and theme.