CARNAL KNOWLEDGE Tom Coraghessan Boyle About the Author

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE Tom Coraghessan Boyle

About the Author "But then, that’s the beauty of writing stories—each one is an exploratory journey in search of a reason and a shape. And when you find that reason and that shape, there’s no feeling like it. " -T. C. Boyle Tom Coraghessan Boyle was born in Peekskill, New York. He graduated from the State University of New York at Potsdam and earned his doctorate at the University of Iowa. Boyle is a distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California. Many of Boyle's novels explore the baby boom generation and his themes are mainly efforts of a male hero and the appeal of an anti-hero. His literary works are colored with satire, humor, and realism. His fiction also explores the ruthlessness and the unpredictability of nature and the toll human society takes on the environment. Boyle has published 12 novels and written over 100 short stories. In 1988, he won the PEN/Faulkner award for his novel, World’s End, which depicts 300 years in upstate New York.

Plot Synopsis… � Carnal Knowledge starts off with the narrator’s character talking about how much he loves to eat meat. He is in the parka lone on his birthday, dozes off, and wake to find that a clumsy dog has peed on him. The dog’s owner, an attractive woman named Alena, apologizes and invites the narrator’s character to her house to wash his cloths. Their relationship quickly develops that night with the assistance of beer as she rants about veganism and the daily atrocities of animal abuse. The narrator’s character calls in sick for the first few days and then neglects to call in at all as his daily life now consists of protesting with Alena and developing their relationship. With Thanksgiving approaching, Alena brings the narrator’s character with her on a trip to free some turkeys where he meets her friend Ralph, who he suspects of being romantically involved with Alena. In the raid, the narrator’s character gets left behind but escapes on foot to be pick up in a few hours by Alena and Ralph. The next morning Alena informs the narrator’s character about her plans to go with Ralph to protect some bears. Broken hearted, he drives home alone. On the way there is traffic from a mass-road kill event with the turkeys he freed. When he gets home he returns to his normal, boring life and decides to fulfill his hunger for meat claiming “it’s only meat” (281). NOTABLE QUOTES “I saw those ads in the magazines, too, the ones that showed the veal calves penned up in their own waste, their limbs atrophied and their veins so pumped full of antibiotics they couldn’t control their bowels, but when I took a date to Anna Maria’s, I could never resist the veal scallopini” (268). “There was her beauty, of course, a triumph of evolution and the happy interchanges of genes going all the way back to the cavemen, but it was more than that—it was her commitment to animals, to the righting of wrongs, to morality that made her irresistible” (274). “It’s only meat. ” (281)

Literary Terms Irony – a device that reveals a reality different from what appears to be true Tone – the author’s implicit attitude toward the people, places, and events in a story Style – the distinctive manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effect Diction – a writer’s choice of words Question s Please answer #1 and at least 2 of the other questions below. Effort will be rewarded. 1. Did you like the story? Why or why not? 2. Was his relationship with Alena legit? Did it change him? Why or why not? 3. Look up “carnal knowledge. ” Now, knowing what it means, does this definition play any significance in the story? 4. What is the significance of the last words of the story and how do they contribute to the author’s intended message? 5. What is the narrator’s purpose in the story? Does he achieve this desire? What are his motives? 6. What is the biggest irony in the story to you? Use quotes to support your response. 7. Why does Boyle put Alf in the story? What is the purpose of Alf? 8. Describe the tone in the story. How does it play a role in the story?