Once Upon a Time

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Consider the concept of fear throughout the story.

• How do the characters react when they are faced with fear? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2 passages in which the characters act out of fear and discuss the results of those actions.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, draw a larger conclusion about how fear impacts people’s choices.

2. Consider the structure of Gordimer’s story as a frame narrative.

• How does the narrator’s introduction relate to the “bedtime story” she tells herself? (topic sentence)
• Using one excerpt from the beginning frame (Paragraphs 1-8) and one excerpt from the story itself (Paragraphs 9-18), examine a connection you see.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how the connection you identified relates to the theme of South Africa’s Mining Industry, Exploitation, and Personal Wealth.

3. Consider this story within the setting of South African apartheid.

• How does Gordimer indirectly make readers aware of the racial tensions in the story’s setting? (topic sentence)
• Find at least 2 moments within the text in which there are implications of race for the reader and analyze their meaning.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how those racial implications relate to the theme of Township Uprisings of 1984-1985 and the End of Apartheid.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Gordimer titled her story “Once Upon a Time” to cue it as a fairy tale, a genre that often provide morals or lessons for children. Building on the theme of Fairy Tales and Children’s Safety, articulate the moral of this story. What lesson or warning is Gordimer ultimately trying to give her audience? Cite specific evidence to support the moral you chose.

2. Multiple times throughout the story the characters are referred to as living “happily ever after.” Pick one instance and analyze it in detail. In what ways is this claim ironic? Beyond just the ending, what about the family’s life is far from “happy ever after”? How does the inclusion of this phrase affect tone and meaning in Gordimer’s story?

3. While much of the story—including character names, traits, and setting—is meant to be universal, Gordimer is known as an advocate specifically against the mistreatment of Black South Africans during the apartheid era. In a structured essay, discuss the pros and cons of writing in this universal style. In what ways does the vague nature of her story help or hurt her overall intention of advocacy? Consider connections to the theme Township Uprisings of 1984-1985 and the End of Apartheid in your answer.