Part 1
As evidenced by the quotes above, George Saunders believes that readers should be significantly impacted when encountering a work of fiction – that, as a result of reading, they should somehow be opened up to some new ideas or insight. After deciding whether you will write on Saunders’ “Christmas” or “Bohemians” for Essay 1, write at least one paragraph in which you explore what message Saunders may be trying to impress upon his reader in that story. (Eventually, this will turn into the “what” of your thesis; it will be the overarching idea that makes your essay cohere.)

Part 2
Create a “quote repository”: make a list of at least 10 quotes from the story that you find interesting, shocking, or otherwise noteworthy, or that relate in some way to the message that you wrote about in Part 1.

For each quote, write a couple of sentences about what you find noteworthy about the quote. What kind of effect does it have on the reader? What words jump out at you, or are used in an interesting way? Is there anything noteworthy about the way that language is used (repetition, slang, profanity)? What emotions or senses are appealed to (sight, touch, smell, hearing, taste)?