Explication of the story “New Man” in lost in the city

Feedback (essay is attached in the files and needs editing based on these points:)
-stories are attached in files (A new man p203-p216)

Although you tend to describe rather than analyze the characters and actions in “A New Man,” you do
manage to include a fair amount of analysis, too. That’s good! But I’d like to see more analysis.

Also, the story raises several questions that ought to be addressed:
Why does Woodrow react so violently when he catches Elaine hanging out
in his house with the two strange boys? You offer hints about this, but what is he afraid of? And what in
his past might explain his strong reaction? (You offer something of an explanation here having to do with
his work as a young man with “wild” men in camps and fields, but there’s more of an explanation than
that.)

Also, why does Woodrom begin to tell his wife lies about the weapons (a gun and a knife) the two young
boys? What do these lies tell us about him and how he feels about what he did when he embarrassed
Elaine and drove out the two boys?

Finally, I like your last paragraph–it thoughtfully touches on several important issues. But what do you
make of the fact that Woodrow is still walking around showing a photo of Elaine in her Easter outfit from
at least seven years earlier? No one is going to recognize Elaine now at the end when they look at that
photograph. Does this suggest that he’s become crazy or unbalanced mentally or just desperate?
And what’s the connection between this photograph and the photo of his mother he finds among his
deceased father’s belongings that makes him cry? That’s a remarkable reaction for him to have. Does it
suggest anything about the power of photos to help us to connect with those we love?