26 pages • 52-minute read
Hop-Frog
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Essay Topics
“Hop-Frog” uses a third-person limited narrator to tell the story. How would the story be told differently through an omniscient narrator? What questions would be answered for the reader? What ambiguities would remain?
Why do you think Poe chose Bal des Ardents, or Ball of Burning Men, as inspiration for this revenge tale?
Based on how the narrator describes Hop-Frog and Trippetta, what is life like where they’re from? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Before Hop-Frog disappears through the skylight, he tells onlookers about the king’s abuses. How do you think the events of the masquerade affected their view of the king? Of Hop-Frog? Do you think the kingdom’s treatment of “fools” changed for the better or for worse? Why?
“The Cask of Amontillado” is another of Poe’s short stories about revenge. How do the two stories compare? How do they differ? What do the commonalities say about Poe’s attitude toward revenge?
Trippetta is a secondary character and is in the background for most of the story. How would the story's themes differ from her point of view?
Hop-Frog uses morally questionable means to achieve revenge. What is the moral of the story? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
Analyze the role of imagery in “Hop-Frog.” Where does the author go into vivid detail? When are the details left to interpretation? Why?
The narrator sympathizes with Hop-Frog’s plight yet participates in dehumanizing him. Does the narrator think Hop-Frog was driven to violence, or that it was an inevitable consequence of his nature? Write an essay arguing one side or the other, using evidence from the text to support your answer.
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