1. What are some problems associated with first-person narration, and where in this story do you discern some of these problems?
2. Analyze the settings the narrator associates with his mother and father, respectively. What do these spaces reveal about these characters? How does conflict between the parents arise?
3. Review the relationship between plot and verb tense at the beginning and end of this story. What do you notice about the narrator's handling of tenses? What does this handling of tenses suggest about the narrator's character?
4. While ideas about adherence to duty and respect for tradition are thematically evident in this story, so, too, are ideas about independence, education, and sovereignty. In what instances do traditional values clash most saliently with personal desires in this story?
5. What does the boat in this story symbolize to the narrator, his father, and his mother, respectively?