The Professor's House Lesson Plan

What is it like for you as a reader to return to the Professor's narrative after spending seven chapters with Tom? Do you think this was intentional on Cather's part? How does it reinforce some of the novel's key themes?

After reading Tom's fresh, exciting, adventurous story, the professor's life seems exceeding drab and stuffy. Though he is established throughout the novel as a kindred spirit with Tom, his life seems more similar to the slavish drones of Washington than the freewheeling adventurers of the southwest. The professor has tried to live a life of purpose and passion, but the corrupting forces of materialism and dishonesty have affected him. When the Professor...