56 pages • 1-hour read
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Essay Topics
How might the story have been different had it been told from a different point of view, such as third-person omniscient, in which the narrator has insight into the thoughts and feelings of all the characters? How would it have been different if it were told from Giles Hadlow’s point of view, or Avril Win’s?
Is the novel one of sharp contrasts? If so, who is contrasted with whom, in terms of character, race, social class, or sexual orientation, and to what effect?
Which characters grow and change most during the course of the novel? In what ways do they change?
What are the main lessons that Dave learns during the course of his life? Does he manage to remain true to himself? Does he have a clear-cut set of principles and beliefs, or does he act in a more intuitive, spontaneous way?
What is distinctive about his Hollinghurst’s style and prose? How do his numerous observations and subtle perceptions of the fine details of social interactions and relationships enrich the novel?
What did you learn about acting and the theater by reading this novel? How does the fictional play Bodies in which Dave performs (Chapter 20), as well as Terra Productions’ leftist approach to Shakespeare and other dramatists, reflect the culture of the times, the 1960s and early 1970s?
Why does Hollinghurst end the novel with the brutal racist murder of Dave? Does the ending emerge organically from the rest of the novel? Is it satisfying and appropriate? What can the reader learn from it?
Compare the novel’s two long-term same-gender couples: Avril and Esme, and Dave and Richard. How are they similar and different? How does one become a model for the other?
What qualities does a good actor need? Does Dave embody them? Why or why not?
Consider social class in the novel. How does Dave navigate what he sees as a life of “chaos of privilege and prejudice” (292), in which he is part of both the Hadlows’ upper-class milieu and his more modest upbringing? How does class affect the rise to prominence of Giles Hadlow?
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