Discussion Notes: Mastiff

Find this week’s story here: Mastiff by Joyce Carol Oates.

Next week’s story: It Had To Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich.

Rated: Clean.

This week Gerald and Anais strongly disliked the story, while Rammy had lukewarm feelings. Thus, poor Maya was left all alone to defend the brilliance of this story! For Anais, the narrates personality grated her and provided to redeeming qualities as a balm. Meanwhile, Gerald found the prose a bit too sparse. In defense of the story, Rammy pointed to a few effective descriptions which elicited emotional responses. Maya, the strongest champion of the story, believed that the very things which annoyed Gerald and Anais were intentional and part of the story’s greater theme.

Did Maya manage to convince?

Did miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below!

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

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