The Old Man Who Read Love Stories

What life lessons can you learn from the story? How does it change or affect your view of people, progress, and industrialization, and its impact on the environment? On other people? On yourself? Use references from the text to support your views

The snake symbolizes many qualities in Antonio’s character. What other animals or aspects of nature are symbolic of human characteristics in this book? How are these characteristics revealed, and what is the author trying to convey about the human condition through these symbols?

The author uses figures of speech throughout the novel. What metaphors, similes, images, and personifications stand out most prominently to you? How do these stylistic choices mold your feelings and opinions about the action? How do they combine to create a specific tone? Can you identify what the story’s tone is?

The author often uses flashbacks to tell the story. How do these flashbacks enhance the development of Antonio’s character? Use textual evidence to show how this strategy gives readers a more complete view of what makes Antonio tick.

A parable is a simple story that illustrates a moral or spiritual theme. How does this story act as a parable, and what are its moral and spiritual principals? Using specific references, explain the author’s moral and/or spiritual position and how he conveys his position. Is the novel’s overarching message moral, spiritual, or both?

Write a short parable of your own experience with a particular political, social, spiritual, or cultural element that has affected your life. Using metaphor, simile, and imagery, develop a theme and a moral truth without articulating it specifically. Instead, show it through the action and the development of the story’s voice.

This novel features many non-human characters that convey important messages. This personification of animals and places is a key technique that the author employs to bolster his theme. Pick one of these characters (such as the ocelot, the snake, or the jungle) and write a character analysis that uses textual evidence to identify what the character represents in the story.

Love is a key component of this novel. Does the author intend for readers to interpret his book as a love story? If so, what evidence can you pull from the text to support your argument? What elements of irony exist around the idea that Antonio, whose chief concern seems to be about true love, must now rely on stories to survive? How does the love story component in this book differ from more traditional love stories? What elements of love in the narrative stand out to you, and what elements of grief or hatred exist? Support your analysis with direct quotes and references from the book.