Once Upon a Time

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

This story is set during the South African apartheid. Based on what you already know about this period in history, make a prediction about the themes or conflicts in the story.

Teaching Suggestion: The South African apartheid took place from 1948 to 1994. It was a time of deep institutionalized racism between white and Black South Africans. After students have made their predictions, you might invite them to share with the class. It may be helpful to work with students to make connections between historical facts and how those facts might manifest themselves in a work of fiction.

• This webpage from the History Channel provides further details and context for South African apartheid, including images.
• This video and interview transcript is a 37-minute discussion with author Nadine Gordimer following her Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. She discusses her time in South Africa, her writing, and more. If a shorter excerpt is useful, the first 7 minutes of the interview contain details relevant to “Once Upon a Time.”

Short Activity

Gordimer’s frame narrative provides “morals” or messages through the lens of a fairy tale. Consider any fairy tales that you already know. Are their messages typically more positive or negative? In a chart, list 3 fairy tales that you know and the messages or morals you get from them. Then, research the “original” versions of the texts, which are often not the popular ones we are familiar with today. Discuss with your peers how the message of each story has changed over time.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity is designed to help students think about the purpose of fairy tales. They are asked to access prior knowledge while challenging the idea that fairy tales always end “happily ever after.” Consider using this activity to engage students with the theme of Fairy Tales and Children’s Safety.

• This article describes the original versions of some well-known fairy tales, which are often violent and disturbing.
• This editorial article argues that the morals of fairy tales should change over time to match social standards.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English language learners or students who are less familiar with American culture, consider completing this activity as a class. Create a list together of the fairy tales and their popular endings, inviting students to share versions from their own cultures as appropriate. Then allow students to work in groups or independently to research the original endings/morals of the stories. To challenge students, consider providing them with the full original text of one or more tales to compare and contrast the versions more fully.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the story.

What do you do when you awaken late at night, perhaps after having had a nightmare? Is it easy to go back to sleep? Do things seem different around you after a bad dream? What do you do when you can’t fall asleep again?

Teaching Suggestion: Gordimer’s story is told as a frame narrative. It opens with the narrator speaking directly to her audience, having awoken in the middle of the night to strange noises in her house. You may use this prompt to help students prepare for the frame narrative structure by frontloading personal experience about nightmares or why it can be hard to fall asleep after waking up in the dark.