The White Hotel | Topics for Discussion & Projects

The White Hotel Topics for Discussion

Discuss the use of repeating patterns throughout The White Hotel. How do these motifs connect different incidents? What do they reveal about the way Lisa senses time and the world around her?

Based on what else you learn of Lisa in the novel, do you agree with Freud's analysis of her? Why or why not? Consider how Freud's bias and Lisa's lies shape the analysis.

Compare and contrast the young soldier in Lisa's hallucinations with the other men in her life (e.g. her father, Alexei, Freud, Victor, etc.). In what ways does the soldier represent some of these men? In what ways does he provide things for Lisa that no other man can?

Discuss the author's use of Babi Yar in The White Hotel. How does connecting true events to fictional characters affect a story? How does the author tie the events of Babi Yar into the rest of the...
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