Select a current political figure and collect newspaper and magazine articles about him or her from several sources. After reading the articles, do you feel as though you know the person any better than you did before? Select one paragraph from each article and cut it out Arrange your paragraphs in different orders. How does that affect what you know about the person?

Investigate the social and political issues of the 1960s and what Robert Kennedy's policies were on these issues. Is it necessary to know them to understand Barthelme's story? Why would Barthelme fail to mention the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, poverty, racism, or any of the other important Issues of the day?

Read Barthelme's essay "Not Knowing." What relationship between language and the world does Barthelme argue? Write down what you and your friends say to each other...