Lydia's Story Response

1) I think, the main point is made in the last sentence. The main point is that hope and determination is essential in the face of terrible adversity.

2) The point of view is from Brideau, talking for Lydia. It makes the story much more personable to me.

3) She tells the story as if it were a work of fiction. Vivid details... gripping plot.

• cramped on the top shelf of the linen closet
• waded through the deep water
• that soon became precarious as well
• ...Lydia, who had an abscessed tooth 

These kinds of descriptive phrases affect our mental picture of the situation. Making it all that much more terrifying and poignant to us, the audience. 

4) The audience would be 'sophisticated' persons who know more about these kinds of terrible disasters and probably have the money to make meaningful changes and to help people. 

5) She reached for the cookie jar. It was too far out of her reach. The top of the fridge looked like a watermelon to an ant. Gigantic. She strategized. Rushing out to the garage, she eagerly looked for a ladder or a step-stool. She found books. She grabbed a basketful of books and brought them back to the base of the fridge. She looked up. A goddamn skyscaper. She began piling the books, one by one. There were 10 books piled. She stepped on a chair to reach the top of the books. She climbed onto the books. What a precarious position she was in, she thought to herself. She grabbed the cookie jar. Too eager. The force of her hand reaching for the cookie jar made the pile of books upon which she stood too unstable. She fell, snapping her neck in two. Dead.