52 pages 1 hour read

J. G. Ballard

High-Rise

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1975

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Essay Topics

1.

The high-rise emits a sort of psychological atmosphere, making the residents more violent, more unfettered, and more territorial. Many residents dissociate from themselves and reality. How does this collective delirium deliver them from the sterile conformity of their lives?

2.

For each character the high-rise is a theater for working out their psychological hang-ups. What conflict does Laing resolve over the course of the novel? How does the structure of the building guide him toward this resolution?

3.

Analyze the character arcs of two to three women in the high-rise. How do their attitudes toward the disintegration of the high-rise change throughout its three distinct phases?