English B Short Story Sample Essay Question

Ten (10) marks are also allocated for structure, development and competence. 

Setting plays a significant part in the development of the storyline in ‘Berry’ and ‘Mom Luby and the Social Worker’. 

For EACH story:

a.       Describe the setting  (8 marks)

b.      Show how the writer uses descriptive language to develop the setting. (8 marks)

c.       Explain the significance of the setting on the development of the story. (9 marks)

                                                                                                                TOTAL MARKS= 35

Mom Luby and the Social Worker Worksheet

Read the following summary of the short story entitled: ‘Mom Luby and the Social Worker’ and answer the questions attached.

This short story is about an elderly woman, fondly called Mom Luby, who fosters two small children. The story opens with her visit to the Social Welfare office, in order to obtain monetary assistance in taking care of the children. She then returns home to find people waiting to enter the speakeasy that she runs in her back room. 

There is a knock on the door, but instead of the police - coming to collect money - it is a social worker. The social worker, Miss Rushmore, visits in order to investigate the living conditions of the children. She is skeptical about some of the answers that Mom Luby gives, but gives her information about the many forms, along with lengthy directions, regarding the acquisition of clothes and shoes for the children. Mom Luby is astonished, yet slightly amused, about the length of time it could take to obtain clothes and shoes for the children. She responds by stating that she simply did not have enough time because she had a long list of chores to attend to. Miss. Rushmore volunteers to go along with Mom Luby, expressing her disbelief that she could accomplish so much in such a short time. 

They both return from completing the chores, with Miss Rushmore looking very bedraggled. She states that Mom Luby does not need her help because she got more things done in two hours than Miss Rushmore has managed to complete in two years. The great irony of the situation is revealed when Mom Luby comments that the Social Welfare office should consider hiring her, but Miss Rushmore comments that that is not possible because Mom Luby is not qualified.

1. From which point of view is the story told?  (1 mark)
2. What illegal activities is Mom Luby engaged in? (2 marks)
3. What effect does meeting Mom Luby have on Miss Rushmore? (2 marks)
4. What is ironic about Miss Rushmore telling Mom Luby that she is ‘Unqualified’?  (4 marks)
5. Compare and contrast how Mom Luby and the social worker deal with the needs of the two children.  (6 marks)

TOTAL MARKS = 15

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CLICK HERE FOR SUMMARY OF THE STORY

Mom Luby and the Social Worker by Kristin Hunter

CHARACTERS

Mom Luby

An elderly woman who is as strong as any young woman.
She has white hair and false teeth. 
She runs a speakeasy in the back room of her house.
She fosters two young children.
She is a midwife, herb doctor and ordained minister of the Gospel.
She's a very productive woman who helps the people in her community.
She is very proud.

Miss Rushmore

She works at the Department of Child Welfare, Bureau of Family Assistance.
She is very thorough in her investigation of Mom Luby.
She is awed by Mom Luby's productivity.

Elijah (narrator) & Puddin' - The two young children that Mom Luby fosters. 

SETTING

The United States of America between 1920-1933, during the time of the Prohibition in the United States.

Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, production, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1919 to 1933. The dry movement was led by rural Protestants in both political parties and was coordinated by the Anti-Saloon League. 

Narrative Point of View is the way events in the story are seen through the eyes of the person who narrates the story.

Themes

Love and Family Relationship

The love that Mom Luby has for her two young charges is apparent by her simple act of fostering them. She is a poor, older woman who runs a speakeasy to survive. This is not the profile of someone who should be willing to take care of two young children, as well as a whole community, yet she does. The act of visiting the Social Security Office is a testament to her commitment to taking care of the two children. The great irony in this short story is that a poor, older lady, is able to take better care of two little children than the State agency that is assigned to do so. This is because she can get more accomplished in two hours, to benefit them, than the agency can accomplish in two years with their most motivated agent.


Devices

Satire: sat•ire  

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of...a play, novel, film, or other work that uses satire.

Satire is a literary device that uses wit or irony to expose and ridicule a human weakness. The inefficiency of bureaucratic procedures is satirized in this story.

Irony usually signals a difference between the appearance of things and reality. For instance, an “Ironic statements (verbal irony) often convey a meaning exactly opposite from their literal meaning. In ironic situations (situational irony), actions often have an effect exactly opposite from what is intended.”