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In this story, we will observe an active interaction between an insurance agent and an ordinary head of the family who is considering a purchase of life insurance for him and his family. All the story slowly increases from the real to the absurd from the moment the head of the family accepts rhetoric of the agent and begins to perceive the world in the terms of money only. The use of first person narration increases the moment of "authenticity" and allows the author to hyperbolize all the situation quite naturally. Try to follow the agent's tactics of persuation and the process in which the father becomes increasingly obsessed with the "profits" that loss of each body part would bring.
As you read the text, pay special attention to the strategy the insurance agent uses to convince his customer to purchase life insurance. Brainstorm for two minutes, and then read the story, using the selected vocabulary list. You do not need to understand every single word you encounter. The major goals in this chapter are (1) to learn to use tactics of persuation employed by the insurance agent, and (2) to observe the process in which the narrator becomes increasingly obsessed with the "profits" resulting from the loss of each body part. |
