Reference no: EM133320908

Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure

AP Setting, Structure, and Narration. What is the relationship between the setting of a train ride and James's meditations on his past and future? How does this setting suit this particular narrative structure?

AP Structure and Narration. "Boy on a Train" is told from a third person limited omniscient point of view, primarily from James's perspective. What effect does that limit have on the way the story is told? What does the brief glimpse into James's mother's thoughts reveal? How does the story's point of view contribute to the larger themes of the text?

AP Narration and Figurative Language. "Boy on a Train" is filled with references to music. In fact, James compares his understanding of his mother to "understanding what music without words said" (par. 31). Trace the many ways Ralph Ellison uses imagery evoking sound to create a mood or convey a shift in perspective. What do these images suggest about the way James sees the world and his place within it?

AP Structure and Narration. The plot of the story is linear in the sense that it takes place during a train ride from one place to another. How, then, does it also move between the past and future of James and his family? What effect do these shifts in time create for the reader?

Topics for Composing

Prose Fiction Analysis. The following question refers to paragraphs 31-35 of Ralph Ellison's "Boy on a Train," written circa 1937. In this passage, James's mother pulls her family together to pray. How does Ellison uses literary elements and techniques to convey the James's complex attitude toward the meaning of his mother's prayer.