Reference no: EM133332297
Assignment:
Discussion Questions
1. What is Fante's style of writing like?
2. What is the significance of the title? How is it symbolic?
3. Who is the character of Arturo Bandini? List as many of his conflicts as you can.
4. How is Bandini's Italian-American heritage important and how does discrimination/racism play a role in this novel? (Keep in mind Italian- Americans were greatly discriminated against in the 1930s alongside other ethnicities).
5. What is the relationship like between Bandini and Camilla Lopez?
6. Fante gives us an incredible sense of place in this novel. The setting itself is as important as any of its characters. In what ways does Fante characterize the city of Los Angeles and its people?
7. Who is Vera Rivken? Why is she important?
8. Who is Bandini's spiritual "father"? Why is this significant to the themes of the novel? What, in a sense, has Bandini replaced religion for?
9. How is the idea of hunger symbolic in this novel? What is Bandini "starving" for?
10. By the end of the novel, in what ways has Bandini changed? Cite specific examples.
11. What do you think Fante's vision of The American Dream is?