"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" is an example of magic realism, a sub-genre of literature in which authors weave elements of myth, fairy tale, magic into an otherwise realistic story. While many readers find magic realism unsettling, Garcia Marquez uses the style to address serious topics.

1. The protagonist in a story is the character who undergoes a change or learns something. Portray Elisenda as the protagonist by identifying a way or ways that she changes over the course of the story.
2. Is the old man with enormous wings a sympathetic character? Do we sympathize with him? Why or why not?
3. Why do the townspeople prefer the spider woman to the old man with enormous wings? 4. This story is sub-titled "A Tale for Children." Is this a children's story? If so, explain. If not, why did Garcia Marquez use this sub-title?

"The Story of an Hour"
1. The protagonist in a story is the character who undergoes a change or learns something. Portray Mrs. Mallard as the protagonist by identifying a way or ways that she changes or learns.
2. We do not learn Mrs. Mallard's first name until close to the end of the story. How does that reinforce her experience in her room?
3. One literary definition of irony is when readers of a story know something that one or more of the characters do not know. In the story, the doctors' diagnosis is that Mrs. Mallard's weak heart fails because of her joyous shock that her husband is alive, "of joy that kills" (289). How is this ironic?

"Boys and Girls"
1. What are the mother's expectations for the narrator? The father's ? How would you describe the narrator's relationship with each of her parents?
2. Discuss one or two of the ironies in the story.
3. How does the narrator change, or what does she learn? In other words, what makes her the protagonist?