Violence - Payton and Kim...

Study Questions for Rendezvous by David Ransom ­­­­­­__________

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

- The story is about a man and a young girl.

The girl has ran away from home, she wants to teach her parents a lesson. The man is frustrated and listens to drums ans saxophones on the radio. They are both on their way to the interstate, in the end they meet at she gets into his car...

2. What genre is the text?

Criminal-novel short story

3. How does the author build suspense?

- thru the music in the car, the weather and structure of the text as a whole.

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 has visited a priest so he can become clean, but the priest only says go to the police. He has visited funerals after each of his murders.

5. What happens at the end? (give arguments for your claims)
   The young girl gets into Paytons car, with the only thought of being home, safe and most of all away from the cold rain.

Content (continued):

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

Payton:

- Pumped guy

- Short hair (Dark)

- Tattoos

- Style of clothing

- Older (25/30)

Kim:

- Young (15)

- Long hair (Light)

- Thin and confident

- Needs attention

Content (continued further ;-))

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

His heart beat and the way he changes mood

8. And of the tattoo?

The tattoo could be a symbol of his mental sickness.

9. What are the themes of the text?
   Violence and murder