More Resources

Lydia Davis, Letter to a Funeral Parlor

Lydia Davis, Letter to a Funeral Parlor

Read Letter to a Funeral Parlor and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Then “submit” your work.

1. Why does the writer of the letter object to the word “cremains”?

It is a made-up word.

The writer doesn’t know what it means.

It sounds too cheerful.

It is too graphic.

2. Why does the writer compare “cremains” with “Coffee-Mate” and “Porta Potti”?

The deceased would not have approved of it.

It feels familiar to the family.

It should be capitalized.

It relates the deceased to a product.

3. How does the family react to hearing the word?

They change the subject.

They get upset with the representative.

They are too preoccupied to care.

They laugh about it.

4. Why does the letter writer care so much about the use of the word?

The writer has a job that deals with language.

The writer is about to die, too.

The writer used to work in the funeral business.

The writer is just learning English.

5. What word would be preferable to “cremains”?

body

deceased

ashes

remains