Questions for The Parsley Garden
1. Why did Al refuse the dollar and the job that Mr. Clemmer offered him? What is your opinion of this refusal?
2. How did Mr. Clemmer feel about Al when he was caught stealing? What did the young man think of Al at this time? What did the men think of Al at the close of the story? Which of the two men had changes of his opinion of Al?
3. What was Al’s feeling toward the two men after he had been caught? Why did he hate Mr. Clemmer?
4. What was Al’s feelings towards these two men at the close of the story? Why do you suppose he still felt this way? Was this feeling just and reasonable?
5. Why did Al refuse the money his mother offered him?
6. The author emphasizes over and over again that Al felt humiliated. That is, his pride had been hurt. Why did Al feel ashamed?
7. What possible courses of action did Al consider as “ways by which to adjust the matter”? Were you surprised that he decided to work for the hammer? It must have hurt his pride to have to go back and ask the man for a job. Why did he do so? Was it because he wanted the hammer so much?
8. What kind of person was Al’s mother? Why do you suppose that she did not insist that Al go back and take the job? Was money important to her? What else was more important to her than money?
9. Why is the story entitled The Parsley Garden? Look back at the paragraph in which the garden is mentioned. What does the parsley garden do for Leeza and Al’s mother? What effect does it have on Al himself?
10. This is a story about an eleven-year-old boy, but the author hopes to make the reader see himself in the boy’s thoughts and actions. He stands for all of us. The loss of self-respect and its recovery are experiences that all of us have had. What is the main idea, or theme, of this story?