Discuss the tension between duty and pleasure in the story and the way this tension manifests itself. What is the narrator's attitude towards the working world?

Discuss the role of urban geography in the symbolic structure of the story. Compare and contrast the significance of uptown vs. downtown, Manhattan vs. New Jersey/the outer boroughs.

Explain the role of gender in the story. How do sexual stereotypes and identities reflect the narrator's development? What is his view of marriage?

Discuss the role of ethnicity and group identity in the story. What does McInerney suggest about the possibilities of solidarity and a shared urban existence in a multicultural universe?

Compare the roles of fact and fiction in the story. How does the duality between the two manifest itself in the narrator's life?

What is the role of faith in the narrator's life? What is his...