Hey Everyone!
Well Oct 3 will be this Sunday and I now have book questions for Revolutionairy Road
they are as follows:
1.April and Frank go to such lengths to manipulate each other's perception of their gender roles. April wants to get to Paris, but feels the need to convince Frank that it's all for him and that, as the good wife, she's willing to go to work to support the family. Do we believe this? Or is she just supporting Frank's idea of what a man and a woman should be like when she truly wishes to work?
2.What does Paris represent for Frank and April? What did the East Coast represent for Shep? Are those two things related, and what do all the escapism fantasies in the book really mean?
3.Does Frank want to "find himself" or does he really just want to be appreciated? Would accepting the promotion be resigning himself to a life he doesn't really want, and if so, why would he consider it? Does he really want to "excel at crap like that" (p. 126) despite protestations otherwise? What does that say about the nature of work and his relationship with it?
4.What's up with Mrs Givings? She's another one of the Wheeler foils we meet in this section, and as such, what part of their lives is she reflecting? Her breakdown scene really struck me because it was so sudden — does she represent the suburban lie that everything is really just fine?
5.Then there's her husband. If anyone's pretending suburban life is just fine, it's him turning his hearing aid off. Is this perhaps the key to surviving this world? Is he maybe the happiest, and most well-adjusted character because he is able to tune it all out?
6.Finally, it's interesting that the Givings' son John is so creepy and mentally disturbed; clearly he is supposed to represent something. Is his ugliness and crudeness like a cautionary tale? It's all autumn leaves and glossy appliances on the outside, but maybe John represents the ugly truth about what's going on deep down inside the American suburban soul.
ALSO!
The dinner for this month is simply POTLUCK Just bring your favorite potluck dish
doesn't matter what it is!
we will meet at 6pm
if anyone needs further directions
let me know,
Kyle
HAPPY READING
