Because it shares many characteristics of other novels chronicling the development of the American character, In the Beauty of the Lilies offers great opportunity for discussion of a number of historical, sociological, political, cultural, and moral issues. The changing nature of Americans over the decades of the twentieth century, and the ongoing preoccupation of Americans with religious and moral issues, are two areas which can lead to particularly fruitful debate. The unusually muted treatment of sexual issues makes the novel one of the few by Updike which can be examined without fear that an overemphasis on the physical description of sexual attributes and activities may diminish attention on other matters. The widely divergent lifestyles of the four principal characters also presents opportunities for comparisons of ways Americans have attempted to achieve success and personal fulfillment.

1. The novel opens with a description of Hollywood director D. W...