Crossing to Safety

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Throughout the novel, Larry struggles with feeling inferior to the Langs due to his humble background. When have you navigated relationships with people from different social or educational backgrounds, and what insights did you gain from those experiences?

2. Sally’s polio significantly alters the trajectory of her life and marriage, yet she maintains remarkable dignity and perspective. What experiences have taught you about adapting to unexpected changes while maintaining your sense of self?

3. The novel portrays different approaches to professional ambition: Larry follows his writing passion despite uncertainty, while Sid remains in academia against his deeper desires. Which character’s approach to career fulfillment resonates with your own experiences?

4. Charity’s need for control extends even to how her family should respond to her death, insisting on maintaining traditions like the birthday picnic. What role have rituals or traditions played in how you or others navigate difficult transitions?

5. The two couples maintain their friendship for decades despite significant differences. What qualities do you believe are most essential for sustaining long-term friendships through life’s changes?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Set partly during the Great Depression, the novel shows how economic forces shaped the characters’ opportunities and choices in academia. How do these economic pressures compare to challenges in higher education and intellectual pursuits today?

2. Larry and Sid’s devotion to literature and academia reflects a certain belief in the transformative power of culture. How has society’s valuation of humanities education evolved since the time period depicted in the novel?

3. The novel subtly addresses class differences between the couples. How do these differences manifest in their relationships, and what does this suggest about social mobility in American society?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Larry admits that his memories are unreliable and that he sometimes invents episodes to fill gaps. How does this unreliable narration influence your understanding of the characters, and what might be missing from his perspective?

2. The novel includes several symbolic elements, such as Sally’s crutches, representing both limitation and persistence. Which symbol did you find most meaningful, and how does it enhance the novel’s themes?

3. Charity is portrayed as both selflessly devoted and frustratingly controlling. How does Stegner create this complex characterization, and does your perception of her change throughout the novel?

4. The novel frequently contrasts youthful idealism with the reality of compromise. How do the characters’ early dreams evolve over time, and what does this suggest about the nature of maturity?

5. Stegner’s characters’ struggles remain incomplete and mysterious, even at the closing of the novel. How does this resistance to narrative resolution contribute to the novel’s realism?

6. Marriages in the novel take different forms: Sally’s supportive devotion to Larry contrasts with Charity’s controlling relationship with Sid. How do these marital dynamics compare to those in John Updike’s Rabbit series, which similarly chronicles American marriages across decades? What insights about marriage does Stegner offer through these contrasting relationships?