Martin is immediately drawn to the mysterious Professor Gottlieb while the other medical students make fun of Gottlieb. What does Martin see in Professor Gottlieb that the others students do not?

Sinclair Lewis is noted for writing brilliant satire. Discuss the technique of satire and why this novel is the perfect example of that style.

Discuss the concept of success. What characters in the novel do you consider to be successful? Why?

Martin gets varying definitions of success from several people. Do you think he has achieved success by the end of the book?

Discuss the differences between Leora and Joyce and the impact they each had on Martin's life.

In this book Sinclair Lewis ridicules the flaws in the medical and pharmaceutical worlds in the early 1900s. What would Lewis think of today's medical practices, pharmaceutical giants and health insurance in America?

In...