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1. What do you think was the most significant occurrence during her visit to Long Island that increased Margaret's panic?

2. What do you think is the significance of the tune that keeps roaming through Margaret's head?

3. What caused Margaret's final breakdown?

Check your answers

In "Pillar of Salt", we see a gradual transition process (process of change) as Margaret's feelings of excitement give way to feelings of anxiety, hysteria, paranoia and panic. Where do these feelings of insecurity first begin to take hold of her? check your answer
On page 6 (column 1, half way down the page), we read "The same faint feeling of insecurity tagged her the next day; she went shopping alone..."
By now we can see she is becoming vulnerable and is gradually losing her self-confidence. Read through pages 6 and 7 again and consider the signs of erosion and decay that Margaret sees, the details that suggest that her view of New York City is changing and her reactions to images of speed (pace of life).
Use the key words below to write a sentence about each one.
bus prices toys rushing decay frantic Check your answer

Which details in the story seem to foretell that such feelings would soon change? Scan the following paragraphs of the story for indications and try to provide a short summary of the incidents/situations. An example has been provided below.
Paragraph 9 (page 4, column 1, line 7 onwards) Answer:

Example answer: pace of life/speed of the city—"they were bewilderingly caught and carried on uptown and whirled out onto another sidewalk".

Paragraph 15 (page 4, column 2, line 6 onwards) Answer:

Paragraph 21, 22, 23 (page 5, column 1, line 3 onwards) Answer:

Shirley Jackson became famous as a master of the horror tale. However, she is more than a writer of supernatural fiction. Her stories show how people can be capable of violence, cruelty, and madness. They seem to show people's inability to be free from their primitive nature. In this story she delves into the inner psychological dilemmas that affect Margaret, the main character, while on a vacation to New York City.

What is Margaret's initial feeling about her vacation to New York?
What does Margaret expect New York to be like? Check your answers

Pillar of Salt

In-Story