Lynne Tillman, "Living with Contradictions"


1. The narrator in this story notes that "language follows change and there wasn't any language to use." Describe the language that the narrator does use in "Living with Contradictions." How does this use of language contradict the narrator's assertion? How does it confirm the assertion? What relationship exists between the language that exists to express our thoughts and the ability to act on them?

2. The title is a paradigm for postmodern life. Explain how the story explores the kinds of ambivalence and contradiction that are necessarily part of life during a period of rapid social change. What are the social changes that force these characters to live with contradictions? What is new? What is old?

3. "Living with Contradictions" can best be described as a "short-short" fiction, a story so brief it seems to be less than fully realized. Which strategies does Tillman use to transcend the limitations of brevity? How, in short, is fullness achieved in a story of such brevity?