Beyond the Curve Lesson Plan

Why is the first story of the collection named “An Irrelevant Death”? What about the death in the story is irrelevant? To whom is it irrelevant? Can you think of other adjectives that might fit in place of the word “irrelevant”? Discuss the possible motivations behind the word choice made by Abe and/or the translator of this collection, Juliet Winters Carpenter.

For this prompt, students are encouraged to think broadly about the story’s overall content, tone, and subtext (if any). They might consider their personal experience as readers, for instance, did they find themselves swept along with the protagonist’s thoughtstream, forgetting about the dead body and focusing...