Study Questions for Rendezvous by David Ransom ­­­­­­

 

1)      Write a short summary of the short story Rendezvous.

A man named Payton has done something bad (implied murder or possibly hit-and-run) and is drinking while driving down the interstate. Meanwhile a girl has run away from her family and is hitchhiking on that interstate. They cross paths.

2)      What genre is the text?

(Implied?) horror.

3)      How does the author build suspense?

Music, rubbing the cobra tattoo, not saying thins but only implying,

You may want to consider:

Choice of words

General language use

Sentence structure

Structure of the text as a whole

Content:

4)      Why has Payton been visiting a priest and going to funerals? (lines 10-26, p. 52)

Payton did something very bad and he feels remorse, so he went to a priest to confess, but the priest wasn't as understanding and forgiving as he had hoped.

5)      What happens at the end? (give arguments for your claims)

The girl gets into the car, and Payton kills her. Obviously, the Interstate is sort of an obsession for him, the manifestation of his insanity, and the drums beating are leading up to something dramatic. Possibly the beating of his heart, because he gets a thrill out of it.

"The priest wasn't even sympathetic about him sending flowers and visiting the funeral home, which he'd done three out of five times after he'd gone on the Interstate."

6)      Make a thorough character sketch of Payton and Kim.

Kim:

·         Fifteen y/o girl.

·         Sadistic, in the sense that she wants to punish her parents.

·         Proud. Wants to brag to her friends about enduring what she is, even though it was self-inflicted

Payton:

·         Has a cobra tattoo.

·         Problems with alcohol.

·         Religious.

·         Not much regard for authorities (unless religious, but still ignores those.)

·         Self-righteous (he feels that it's okay because he sends flowers and shows momentary remorse).

7)      What could be the symbolic meaning of the drums?

First and foremost, the drums create suspense, as they would do in a movie/TV-show. Other than that, they tell us how Payton gets a thrill (increased heart rate?) out of doing these things.

8)      What is the symbolic meaning of the saxophone?

The drums is a symbol of his pleasure, and the sax represents the opposite - his remorse. It is his conscience telling him he should follow the priest's advice, and that he should stop 'going on the interstate', which obviously only means trouble for him.

9)      And of the tattoo?

The tattoo is his insane side, possibly a voice in his head telling him he needs to do this. Making him want to do this.

10)  What are the themes of the text?

Run away kids, purity vs. impurity, religion in the face of horrible sin.