My Life With the Wave

Who is the victim in the story? Is there only one?

Paz characterizes the wave as a moody, emotional, irrational lover. Is this an unfair stereotype?

In what ways does Paz complicate the man’s role in this relationship? What effect does this portrayal have on the story as a whole?

Which elements of surrealism does Paz use in this story? How do these affect the narrative? What makes the story believable?

How does the first-person narrative affect our understanding of the story’s events and the characters?

Paz uses rich imagery to aid his personification of the wave. Which passages are most effective in conveying her human qualities?

Paz wrote his story in the aftermath of World War II. What elements of his story parallel the experience of people coping with the War’s destruction?

Imagine a retelling of this story from the wave’s point of view. Use clues from the text to envision how the wave would experience the events of the story.