If you have read Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), how do Mott and Vonnegut use self-insertion to explore both the limits and advantages of storytelling when dealing with trauma?

The characters in the novel must navigate the expectations and pressures of the society around them. How does Mott portray the relationship between individual identity and social forces? Trace the development of one theme tied to this idea throughout the text.

Analyze the character of John J. Remus as an embodiment of historical trauma and discuss how his actions, body, and storytelling challenge the narrator’s attempt to flee a collective American past.

Trace the evolving definition of the phrase “people like us” throughout the novel. Does the conclusion suggest this community is defined by shared identity, shared trauma, or the shared act of telling and receiving stories?

How does the novel use the setting of Europe not as a sanctuary but as a mirror that reflects the characters’ inescapable American identities? Analyze specific scenes, such as the Paris writers’ dinner or the encounter with the Black Italian waitress, to support your argument.

Explore the novel’s commentary on contemporary Black authorship. How does the narrator’s habit of impersonating writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, combined with the integration of Jason Mott’s own career, critique the literary world’s pressures regarding representation and authenticity?

Jason Mott employs varied textual forms, including a direct authorial address, a noir-inflected first-person account, and the sterile transcript of an active-shooter training video. Analyze how this stylistic fragmentation reflects the psychological effects of living in a culture saturated with violence.

Instead of being an archetypal antagonist, Remus is portrayed as a complex character whose actions allow the narrator to uncover his own truths about violence and death. Dylan and Tasha are also atypical antagonists. Discuss how they antagonize the novel’s protagonists while also facilitating their growth and development?