Challenge 613

What the Long Name Says

In Charles C. Cole’s “A Short History of the Secular Church”:
1. What seems to be Carey’s emotional state? What is his motivation for creating a “secular church”?
2. In what way do Ella’s goals differ from Carey’s? In what way are they the same?
3. Rev. Williams makes his point to Carey politely but obliquely, with an analogy to democracy. What question or questions might the Reverend ask Carey that might force him to think about what he’s doing?
In Harry Lang’s “Safe Hate Division”:
1. In what way is the title ironic? Why might readers mistakenly remember it as “The Self-Hate Division”?
2. Warmongering politicians have a “Frankenstein complex”; they create the monsters they most fear. By creating hateable clones, does the scientist become a Frankenstein or an anti-Frankenstein?
3. At the end, “Dr. Charlie” says that the Giants are not going to the Super Bowl. Why might he expect that the Lions will playing in the Colosseum?
In Eleanor Lerman’s “What If There Is a Hidden World That We Can’t See?”
1. At what point in the story do we learn that the narrator’s name is Chris? At the end of the story, her name changes. Why?
2. How would you characterize Chris’s state of mind at the beginning of the story?
3. Like readers, Chris subconsciously employs the James Bond rule: “Once is an accident; twice is a coincidence. Three times — that’s enemy action.” Why is it important to Chris that she find out what has been bumping her surfboard? Why is it essential to her story that she not find out?

Responses welcome!