Essay Questions

Are any of the characters in the novel actually likable?

This is a novel about a group of predominantly unlikeable people with only their own self-interests at heart. John Beaver is not particularly likable; he is cheap and seems happy to be supported by other people. He is not much of a go-getter and prefers to lounge in bed than get up and find himself gainful employment. His weak character is therefore a perfect match for Brenda's. She is a self centered and spoiled woman who is bored in the country and wants some excitement in her life. She rather brutally leaves her husband after the funeral of their little boy. Tony is probably the most sympathetic character and deserves some sympathy. He is grated poorly by his new friend Beaver and by his wife and he is effectively kidnapped by Mr Todd, a manipulative man who steals Tony from his life so that he can read aloud to him. It is hard to find any of the novel's main characters that is actually appealing.

What do we learn from the novel about the way in marriage and divorce are viewed at the time?

Divorce was not just something that one decided to get and then formalized by filling out the relevant paperwork. Divorce was viewed almost as a criminal offense and as such could only be granted to a woman if her husband was seen cheating in public by an independent witness. Of course this was not the same for men who could simply decide to divorce their wife without proof of her infidelity. The novel shows that within a marriage the man was given all of the responsibility and also the upper hand by society and by the "powers that be" although in individual marriages the roles were actually very different.

It is assumed that Tony has does. How is this assumption effectively correct?

Tony has not physically passed away, but to all intents and purposes the Tony he used to be has died and the life he used to know has ended. He is taken out of his familiar life and the people in it and kidnapped by Mr Todd for his own selfish reasons. The Tony who had control over his own life no longer exists. He also has ceased to exist for his family and friends and so this part of his existence has died as well. Although he is still physically living it is as a completely different shadow of his former self and for this reason his family and friends' belief that he has died is not incorrect.