Essay Questions

Why is George so isolated?

Every situation in George's life caused him to be isolated. Even his tendency to compartmentalizations me his life causes him additional isolation since all the different elements of himself are isolated from each other and he is therefore never able to feel fulfilled in anything.

George was not isolated from his partner, Jim, and this has been the only part of his life that has been fulfilling. As a young man, he was isolated because his life was a lie. He could not be a publicly gay man because homosexuality was illegal. He could not participate in the comfortable and easy couples socializing between his co-workers and fellow faculty because he could not pretend to be in a relationship with a woman just for show. He was therefore socially isolated. He was also isolated in terms of family; he was completely shut out of Jim's family because his parents refused to recognize his existence and therefore rather than having an extended family to help him through his grief he was also isolated in his grieving process as he had nobody with whom to grieve about the love of his life.

What does this novel tell us about the way gay people were treated in Britain at the time?

Of course, gay people existed in Britain before there was widespread equality and acceptance. The fact that they existed was also accepted, but it was accepted in the same way as other perceived "taboos." To be a gay person in Britain for the majority of the Twentieth Century was to be seen as a criminal at best and a pervert at worst. Not to mention the fact it was a criminal offense punishable by incarceration. Oscar Wilde penned his famous work "At Reading Gaol" whilst imprisoned for homosexuality. During the war years, many deals were done and agreements made by threatening to reveal a person's sexuality unless they did x, y or z. Growing up in Britain during this time would have contributed to George's social fears and feelings of isolation as well as his feeling of going through the motions of life but never really connecting to it.

Do you think George is truly suicidal?

George is absolutely sincere on his intention to commit suicide but despite this is not what one would consider to be a suicidal person or a person with suicidal tendencies; he is depressed about the death of his partner and without him he feels that there is no reason to be alive anymore because what he really wants is to be with Jim. However, if Jim were still living, George would not dream of taking his own life. He does not want to continue to live based on his calculation of whether or not he would be happier dead, but has not been a clinically depressed or especially morose person when the love of his life was still living. This is why he is not a suicidal person in general.