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2565 Redefining AmericaQUESTIONS Understanding and Interpreting1. Who is the narrator of this story, and how does he characterize himself in paragraphs 1%u20137 of the story? What do you learn about his attitude toward his job, the %u201choliday%u201d of Black Friday, and the %u201cshoppers%u201d who participate?2. The character Duo appears three times in the story. How is he portrayed when we firstmeet him? What function does this character serve? What tension does he add when he reappears in later scenes? Ultimately, is he the conscience of the story, a foil for the narrator, or something else entirely? Explain your response with specific textual references.3. In a dystopian society, propaganda is used to control people, and information and independent thought are restricted. To what extent is the retail store in %u201cFriday Black%u201d a dystopian setting, according to this definition? What form(s) does the propaganda in this story take?QUESTIONS Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure4. Vocabulary in Context. The narrator tells Richard, his manager, that when he wins the sales contest, he intends to give an expensive parka to his mother. %u201cRichard frowned but said that was honorable%u201d (par. 7). How does this response challenge the conventional meaning of the term %u201chonorable,%u201d which generally means adherence to what is right according to a conventional standard of conduct? What does this word choice reveal about the stakes of the world of %u201cFriday Black%u201d?5. The second line in this story is %u201cRavenous humans howl.%u201d From there on, Nana Kwame AdjeiBrenyah describes the dehumanization of shoppers and sales associates alike. What choices in diction, especially verbs and figurative language, support this depiction? Cite specific examples to illustrate your analysis.6. Adjei-Brenyah made the following comment about the physical and emotional violence he depicts in his short stories: %u201cI turned up the volume because it%u2019s interesting to think about how bad the violence has to be for us to care.%u201d How do you respond to the hyperbolic violence throughout the story? Do you find it contributes to%u2014or detracts from%u2014the ideas the story explores?7. Broadly speaking, the purpose of satire is to expose and criticize cultural shortcomingsthrough humor, irony, exaggeration, ridicule, or some combination of those. What is Adjei-Brenyah satirizing in %u201cFriday Black%u201d? Find examples of at least two of the four satiric strategies listed here and explain how they contribute to themes in AdjeiBrenyah%u2019s story.8. The epigraph for the short story collection Friday Black is a line from the lyrics of a song by hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar: %u201cAnything you imagine you possess.%u201d What connection do you think Adjei-Brenyah sees between this quotation and his story %u201cFriday Black%u201d?QUESTIONS Topics for Composing9. Analysis. Adjei-Brenyah gives us information about the narrator through the first-person account of events occurring on Black Friday, but he also provides details about the narrator%u2019s home life. In what ways does the narrator come across as a complex character, specifically someone whose character is influenced by his environment?Copyright %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.