"Sliver of Sky" and "Someone Else"

I'm not sure how much, if at all, I should have prepared all of you to read these two essays. If you've read them already, then you know that they're about sexual assault. Some people have argued that profs should give "trigger warnings." (See:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html?_r=0). Trigger warnings essentially warn students that there is something disturbing in the pages they're about to read. The thinking behind these warnings is that some students might have had traumatic experiences and these warnings can prepare them and protect them from having a post-traumatic response. What do you all think? Should I have warned you? Why or why not? And then what?

Consider these questions while you read these essays:

• "Sliver of Sky": On pp. 132-133, Barry Lopez says that many people seem to think that victims of pedophiles want money and revenge. He argues that what they want, most of all, is self-respect. Although Lopez is a victim, he's still just one person. Do you agree w/ him or do you think victims want something else?
• Why do you think Lopez's mother and stepfather had such faith in Shier? 
• Barry Lopez is a famous writer; he's won the National Book Award which is one of the highest honors that an American writer can win. He's also 70 years old, so there's no reason that he should have felt compelled to write this story of trauma and abuse. So why did he? 
• How did therapy help Lopez? What do you make of the conclusion?

• Why is Chris Offutt's essay called "Someone Else"? '
• What did he do w/ the fatman?
• Why did he think that his parents would respect him or like him for what he did w/ the fatman (p. 142)? 
• There's a disgusting scene on p. 143 where Offutt and another boy watch the fatman weeping in the shower and simultaneously vomiting and defecating. There's a scene in "Sliver of Sky" where Lopez voids his bowels in the library. What do these sickening scenes have to do w/ each other? How are they different?
• What does shoplifting have to do w/ what Offutt did w/ the fatman? 
• What do you make of the conclusion?