Essay Questions

Are any of the characters in the novel truly likable?

It is hard to like any of the main characters in the novel. The most likable, in a paradoxical kind of way, is actually Anthony's grandfather; on the face of it, he does a very unkind thing, and disinherits his grandson, but this action could also be said to fall under the "cruel to be kind" umbrella, and this action was one of the few things he was actually able to do that might prevent Anthony from spending any more money on alcohol.

In terms of Gloria and Anthony, the book's main characters, neither is particularly likable. Anthony is lazy, entitled, spoiled, and lazy all over again. He has no sense of pride in his life and has no goals or objectives other than finding enough money to throw lavish parties and drink himself into a stupor. Even when there are red flags waving in his life, which really should have alerted him to the fact that he needs desperately to change the way he is living, he does not. He lives in a sort of oblivious bubble, assuming that eventually he will get the money that he needs, and therefore he need not worry about his finances or start to do anything as bourgeois as budget.

Gloria is not much better with her money than Anthony, although she doesn't actually drink it all away, she loves lavish parties even more than he does, because they make her feel young and less empty. She also loves the house in the country that drains their minimal finances even more. Gloria gets by in life on her looks; she is incredibly beautiful, and so men have a tendency to spend money on her just for the pleasure of being in her company. She is aware of this and instead of trying to come up with a plan B for when this does not work anymore, she gives up completely. She is an exceptionally shallow person who uses people, and is therefore almost as difficult to like as Anthony, except for the fact that her "hustling" is quite hard work, and so she does have some kind of work ethic that sadly bypassed Anthony completely.

Why do Gloria and Anthony's friends become estranged from them?

Gloria and Anthony are the kind of friends that you are incredibly close with in your youth, but from whom you grow apart, simply because you grow, and evolve, as a person, but they do not. the whole group is young and reckless with no responsibilities they all party hard, live lavishly, and don't really need to take care of their money because they have only themselves to spend it on. However, as they get older, they marry, begin a career, have a family, strive for goals. They are not the frantic party crowd that they once were and Anthony and Gloria's inability to change and grow in the same way causes a rift within the group.

The friends also know that whenever Anthony contacts them it is to borrow money. This makes any friendship that they have with him extremely one sided. They don't want to make him loans anymore because they know they will be enabling him to get drunk again; it's not as if a loan will help dig him out of the hole he has dug for himself, because he will drink away every penny and nothing in his life will change. His friends have changed, and after being patient with Gloria and Anthony for quite some time, they have no choice than to estrange themselves from their company because they do not want to get drawn into that world again. They have moved on.