Nobody's
fool
|
Book
| Movie
| Discussion
questions
|
Book:
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Movie:
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Discussion
questions:
1.
Sully tries to be nobody's fool
(title of the book). How does he try
and is he succeeding? Is he himself
a fool?
2.
From the beginning we know that
Sully has a bad knee, and his
refusal to treat it generates many
of the complications in the story.
In what ways does this injury
resonate with the novel's themes?
What are the themes of the book?
3.
Here is something Richard Russo said
in an interview: There is an
omniscient narrator in
"Nobody's fool", [...] but
[...] you don't get the complete
sense of omniscience; the narrator
can go to various people, but for
the most part, it's time-present. We
can go from what Sully is doing in
time-present
to what Miss Beryl is doing in
time-present. What would happen to
the story if it got told from first
person or subjective third person?
Do you think the story would have
been better or not? Why?
4.
A critic has described 'Nobody's
Fool' as "a sad novel
camouflaged in comedy." Do you
think he's right? What is the nature
of the book's sadness? Where does
the book gets its comedy from?
5.
From different internet sites I
understand that Mrs. Beryl has a
very small part in
the movie. So this is for the people
who (apart from reading the book)
saw the movie: Is it a pity Mrs.
Beryl is not as prominent in the
movie as in the book? What or whom
else did you miss in the movie? What
was in the movie that you missed in
the book?
6.
We all know how Sully became the
adult that he is; he hasn't had a
very good childhood. But why hasn't
Sully tried to change himself? And
why does he mock people, Rub as the
most willing victim? Do you think it
has anything to do with power,
control or ego?
7.
A few questions on Mrs. Beryl:
# Is Mrs. Beryl a surrogate mother
for Sully? Or what is their
relationship?
# How does the relationship between
Mrs. Beryl and Sully compare with
her relationship with her real son,
Clive, Jr.?
# Is Mrs. Beryl lonely - talking to
drivers Ed the mask and the picture
of her late husband, both talking
back - ?
# What happened to Mrs. Beryl when
she finally gave in on Clive jr.'s
proposal to sell the house and kick
Sully out? (I thought she was a
different person after that, is
she?)
Do
you want to discuss this book or
others? Join
the group.
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