In each option, does the speaker see the man as dangerous? If so, ...

[crobinson2013]

In each option, does the speaker see the man as dangerous? If so, why doesshe go with him?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

How does Stallings adapt a classical myth of abduction and rape into a contemporary story? Give specific examples.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[honnalora]

Answer to Question 1

• There does seem to be an element of danger at every turn; even in line 8, the phrase with a wink at the clich implies that the speaker knows his true intent. But, as lines 1214 show, that whiff of the forbidden is a large part of his charm and her excitement. Also, he provides an escape from tedious everyday reality: he gives her an excuse not to go back alone to the apartment with its sink of dirty knives (line 9).

Answer to Question 2

• At first, there seems to be a jarring contrast between the mythical and the modern, between a souped-up Camaro and a chariot drawn by a team of stallions. But as the poem proceeds, we see that these distinctions are not so distinct as they first appeared, and that the tawdry present and glamorous antiquity are not contrasted with one another; instead, they are one and the same: the uncle . . . who lived in the half-finished basement is both a creepy modern relative and Hades himself, who was a brother of Persephones father, Zeus. Amid the contemporary references, details of the original myth crop up: the narcissus of line 10 alludes to the fact that Persephone was picking flowers when she was abducted by Hades; the bitter seed of line 18 reminds us that, because she had eaten pomegranate seeds, Persephone could not permanently return to earth. In fact, rather than the classical references giving way to souped-up modern ones, the drift of the poem is largely in the other direction, as a character who resembles Arnold Friend in Joyce Carol Oatess Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? gradually morphs into the Greek god Hades.