Shuggie Bain Essay Questions

What is it about Shuggie that so many characters consider "not right"?

In Shuggie Bain, the people in the protagonist's life often comment on how he's "not right," or call him names like "poof," "Liberace," and "wee willy woofter." What the characters see as not right about Shuggie is his apparent homosexuality. From a young age, Shuggie doesn't act like most boys. Instead of the typical interest in football and violent games, Shuggie is drawn toward feminine-coded play, such as playing with his doll, Daphne. Shuggie also walks and talks in a manner people consider flamboyant rather than masculine; he often speaks like his mother, parroting her refined speaking style. In a milieu dominated by heterosexuals, Shuggie's difference makes him stand out and provokes needless prejudice and anger from others. Because he is a child, Shuggie doesn't understand why his inclinations arouse contempt in others. All he understands is that he has to change the way he is in order to fit in. However, when he fails to conform to the world around him, leaving no choice but to accept himself and his sexuality.

What role does alcoholism play in Shuggie Bain?

As one of the novel's major themes, alcoholism plays a central role in the book. Once—and still to some—considered as a sinful moral failing, addiction to alcohol now tends to be thought of as a disease requiring total abstinence if one is to recover. Agnes struggles with alcoholism throughout the novel, having both an addictive personality and traumatic life events that drive her self-destructive drinking. The mix of nature and nurture that brings about Agnes's alcoholism makes it difficult for her to restrain herself when she drinks, particularly because the alcohol numbs her to her feelings and gives her license to vent her resentments. Alcoholism also allows Agnes to stay in denial about the miserable state of her life. Eventually, her disease leads to isolation, as the people close to her cannot handle being responsible for her. Things begin to improve when she earns a year of sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but she never recovers from her relapse and eventually drinks herself to death. Having been at Agnes's side through everything, Shuggie finds that his life has been just as determined by alcoholism as Agnes's, despite not drinking himself.

What is the significance of poverty in Shuggie Bain?

As an invisible weight on the shoulders of every character, poverty is a key theme in the novel. Set in Scotland in the 1980s, Shuggie Bain takes place at a time when the country was devastated by Margaret Thatcher's monetarist policies, which precipitated a decline in the industries undergirding the Scottish economy. The effects of industrial decline ricochet out to other sectors of the economy, and misery abounds. In this context, the members of Shuggie's working-class family struggle to get by, having limited opportunities for decent work. The backdrop of poverty and industrial decline becomes most apparent in the Pithead section of the book, when Agnes and her children move to a housing estate in a town full of out-of-work miners and their long-suffering wives. Embedded in a social milieu where there is nothing to look forward to, Agnes finds miserable company among other alcoholics, making it that much more difficult for her and Shuggie to escape her disease.

What, if any, hope is there for Agnes to quit drinking?

The only hope Agnes has in quitting drinking is when she attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. As a counterpoint to her isolated life of resentment and denial, the support group offers her sober and relatable company with whom she can be honest about her struggles. The other recovering alcoholics in the group know the importance of not trying to recover in isolation, and so they welcome Agnes into their circle, encouraging her to stay sober and not slip back into destructive behavior. However, Agnes's year of recovery is thwarted by Eugene, who is prejudiced against the alcoholics with whom she associates. Hoping Agnes can prove she is not as pathetic as the other people in her AA group, Eugene encourages her to take a drink in front of him. Doing so prompts Agnes to relapse, and she stops attending meetings, having slipped back into the destructive spiral she had miraculously managed to pull herself out of.

Why does Shuggie let Agnes die?

Toward the end of the novel, Agnes has alienated everyone in her life except Shuggie. Shuggie has taken care of her and been a fierce protector of her since infancy, but he ultimately decides he cannot save her from herself, and thus doesn't intervene when he sees her choking to death on her own bile. In this complex scene, Shuggie's behavior may come off as callous. To others, it may come off as compassionate. Having witnessed his mother's years of self-destructive behavior and attempts at killing herself, Shuggie concludes that his brother Leek was right, and that she won't ever change. In the moment, Shuggie accepts his own powerlessness over his mother's behavior, realizing he cannot rescue her. He allows her to die, believing that it is the merciful thing to do when she lives with so much emotional pain.