End of Old School graded discussion

For our seminar prepare notes by writing ideas, connections, reflections, and noting relevant passages for each of the following questions that we came up with. Write these notes on a piece of paper you can bring with you to seminar, not on this blog.

1.        Why does the story end with the Dean and not the narrator? How does the ending relate to the narrator’s story?  How does the theme of honesty/truth relate to both characters’ stories?

2.       Why does the school still honor the narrator after he was kicked out?  Why did Mr. Ramsey seem to hold him in such high regard?

 

3.       Is it possible to have a unique idea?  Can we ever escape the influence of what we read, see, and hear from other writers/thinkers?  What is the difference between influence, imitation, and plagiarism?

 

4.       Why didn’t the narrator go home after being kicked out?  How do you make sense of his life after the incident?  How does he try to make sense of it?

 

5.       Does the narrator feel any guilt about plagiarizing?  Why did Susan Friedman respond the way she did?  What changed Susan’s point of view about writing?  How do you interpret her own life choices?

 

6.       In what ways does truth become relative and elusive?  Does absolute truth matter?

 

7.       What does it mean to discover your voice?  Has the narrator discovered his?

 

8.       Notice continual references to acting, role-playing, and theater.  What does the use of this motif help us to see about the characters, this school, and some larger themes in the book?

 

Side question:  What is Tobias Wolff’s connection to his narrator?  What would be the significance of that connection?  How does that come through in the writing?