11.14 Ambiguity, Paradox, and Multiple Meanings Worksheet

The story’s setting is a lighthouse that no longer faces the sea; erosion has turned the coast into inland marsh. The keeper still polishes the lens daily. When asked why, she says, “Ships still come.” The visitor looks at the grass and scoffs. The keeper adds, “Not the kind you mean.” At night, the beam sweeps over reeds, and the keeper listens as if for horns that never sound.

A novel chapter begins with an epigraph: “What is forgiven is not forgotten.” The chapter then depicts a family dinner where everyone is polite, and no one mentions the older brother’s betrayal. The mother serves his favorite dish. The father compliments the meal and says, “We’ve moved on.” Under the table, the narrator counts the fork tines like tally marks. In the final line, the narrator says, “We swallowed it.”

In the story, a town celebrates an annual “Day of Silence.” Businesses close; people communicate only by gestures. The narrator claims the day is “for peace,” but she admits she loves it because “no one can ask me to explain.” When her friend tries to write her a note anyway, the narrator crumples it and smiles. Later, she describes the festival as “the loudest comfort.”