Letters of E. B. White Study Questions & Topics for Discussion

Letters of E. B. White Topics for Discussion

To what extent does E.B. White's nuclear family support and encourage him as a writer?

In view of White's checkered career in journalism, advertising and literature before coming to The New Yorker, what are some factors that account for his 56-year stint on the magazine's staff?

What explains for E.B. White's peculiar—almost bizarre—relationship to women, such as Alice Burchfield, throughout his youth and college days, before he meets Katherine?

How was E.B. White able to keep his position at The New Yorker despite his occasional unexplained absences and his period of separation?

Why did E.B. White say that he failed as a reporter? What personal traits—other than his obvious ability to write—caused him to feel that way?

Does E.B. White's reluctance to appear in public suggest a misanthropic personality, or just extreme shyness?

Why does E.B. White seem more at home around animals than in social settings with other...
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