1. What is the importance of this quote in relation to Wilhelm: "Someone had said, and Wilhelm agreed with the saying, that in Los Angeles, all the loose objects in the country were collected, as if America had been tilted and everything that wasn't tightly screwed down had slid into Southern California."?

2. What is the one item that Wilhelm tells Dr. Adler he wanted most when he left Margaret and why?

3. Wilhelm says of Tamkin, "I am on his back--his back." What does he mean by this?

4. When does Wilhelm use the car he parks on the street in the city? Where does he go?

5. Why does Dr. Adler say he won't give Catherine any money for her art?

6. In Chapter 4, Wilhelm talks about how things would be different with his relationship with his father if he were poor. What would change and why?

7. What particular feature of Tamkin does Wilhelm constantly refer to in Chapter 4? And how do they change throughout the chapter?

8. Tamkin and Wilhelm are equal partners, but Tamkin invested less than Wilhelm. What does Wilhelm think about how Tamkin might use this to his advantage?

9. How does Tamkin convince Wilhelm to invest in commodities?

10. In the beginning of Chapter 6, Tamkin shares the story of his own father. What is it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Wilhelm suspected, Tamkin ultimately takes off with his money and leaves him to deal with the fallout. Abandonment is a key motif in the story.

Part 1) How does abandonment affect Wilhelm? Why does Tamkin abandon him? Who else abandons Wilhelm?

Part 2) How does Wilhelm's childhood - specifically his relationship with his father - feed his issues of abandonment?

Part 3) Finally, how does abandonment factor into Wilhelm's own family? How does it relate to Margaret? And Wilhelm's sons?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the story, the narrator employs metaphor as a literary device to help us better understand the text.

Part 1) Cite a metaphor in the text and how it is used to further that scene, or a character's development.

Part 2) Why does that metaphor help us readers?

Essay Topic 3

Many of the events we witness in the story occur because of one factor: pride. Consider the following:

Part 1) Pride was a factor when Wilhelm lost his job at the Rojax Corporation. Why? What happened?

Part 2) Tamkin is the only character who knows exactly why Wilhelm lost his job. Why does Wilhelm tell him? How does his pride motivate him to tell Tamkin?

Part 3) How is pride still a factor in Wilhelm's life? How has this pride caused him to get into his current situation?

(see the answer keys)

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