54 pages • 1-hour read
The Joke
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Essay Topics
How does Kundera use nonlinear narrative structure and the juxtaposition of the present against the past to shape the characters’ and reader’s understanding of what is true and what is false in the story?
Identity in The Joke is often centered around public performance. Is it possible to have an identity divorced from performance? When do characters access a more authentic self, and what might those moments suggest about the nature of identity?
What is the central “joke” of The Joke? What similarities underlie the ironies and absurdities the novel illustrates, and how might you synthesize them into a unifying statement about the society it depicts?
How does Vladimir’s resentment of the honor of being asked to play a central role in the Ride of the Kings transform the meaning of tradition for Jaroslav and the novel?
The characters in The Joke obsess over the past. What role do their obsessions play in the novel’s problematizing of the notion of a true or authentic “past”?
How does Ludvik’s relationship with sex relate to his feeling of social alienation? How does it change over the course of the novel?
How does the significance of folk traditions like music or the Ride of the Kings change over the course of the novel?
Is The Joke a satire or a depiction of a totalitarian society? Or is it both?
How does the symbolism of the black insignia evolve over the course of the novel?
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