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Paradise Study Guide

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by Donald Barthelme
About 10 pages (3,046 words)
Paradise (Barthelme) Summary

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Characters

Simon, the protagonist, is the most completely realized character in Paradise. A well-to-do and noted fiftythree-year-old architect, he is cultivated, somewhat eccentric (he listens compulsively to a collection of three old radios), and disturbed. He is troubled by dreams that reveal his fears of being ineffective and impotent. He repeatedly dreams of having trouble putting on his pants and confesses to an anxiety about being stabbed with scissors by a woman who cuts his hair.

He is troubled by guilt and self-conscious about his aging body, and he drinks and smokes too much. Simon's marriage has failed to provide hoped for satisfactions and his relationship with the three women he meets by chance and invites to share his apartment also proves to be a dead end, even though it offers the fulfillment of a male.....

This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 615 words. This Short Guide contains 3,046 words (approx. 10 pages at 300 words per page).

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Copyrights
Paradise from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction and Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.



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