Saul and Patsy: A Novel

1. How does the town of Five Oaks, Michigan figure as a character in the novel? How is it a particularly Midwestern town? How do the various town folk—whom Saul refers to as “rural Gentiles, connoisseurs of rifles, violence, and piety”—play into the narrative? Harold the barber, the local high school teachers and students, Mrs. O’Neil the lonely neighbor, the various students, Susan the bank teller, Brenda Gordy’s aunt? 2. 2. Saul and Patsy are definitely outsiders in this small Midwestern town. What sets Saul apart from the other inhabitants? Does his Jewishness play a role, or is this largely in Saul’s imagination? By the end, are they Midwesterners as well? 3. 3. Saul views himself as a missionary, “bringing education and the higher enlightenments to rural benighted adolescents.” What exactly is a missionary? Do you think Saul is one? Later in the novel when asked if he is going to stay in the Midwest, Saul responds, “I have to. I’m on a mission. We are.” What is this mission? Is it ultimately to save himself or others? And from what? 4. Discuss the relationship between Saul and Patsy. Compare and contrast them. Why is theirs such a fulfilled and satisfied relationship despite their different views on love? “In Saul, love took the form of desperation-to-share.” For Patsy, “she might have loved anybody, but it had turned out to be this man…there was certainly no logic to it.” What determines and then later threatens to undermine their marriage? What is the author saying of love? Describe the other marriages in the book, that of Saul’s parents, and the McPhees. 5. 5. How does having a child transform Saul and Patsy’s life? Do they change individually and/or as a couple? What do they learn about each other in the process of accepting a third person into their world, and growing from a couple into a family? 6. After meeting the McPhees, Saul “began to be obsessed with happiness” and realized “compared to others, he was, except for his marriage, actually and truly unhappy.” He becomes preoccupied with the McPhees and their happiness without really knowing much about their lives. Why the jealousy and obsession? 7. Saul and Patsy overflows with references to written words. Saul teaches writing at the local high school and later writes a newspaper column. Saul and Patsy adore Scrabble and crossword puzzles. Various authors are referred to and quoted. Saul writes on Patsy’s body. Gordy leaves notes for Saul. What is the importance of the written word in the novel? Give examples of the success and the failure of words in the novel. 8. Discuss the theme of betrayal in Saul and Patsy . What types of betrayal occur? What are the causes and consequences of them? Are the betrayals justified? Is anyone innocent? As a teacher, does Saul betray Gordy? As a brother, does Howie betray Saul? Does Patsy betray Delia? 9. Does Gordy Himmelman represent or symbolize something larger than himself, a troubled teen, to Saul and to the novel as a whole? What? Why is he obsessed with Saul, and why does he commit suicide in front of him? 10. 10. What does Saul learn about himself and his relationship with Patsy and his family through his experiences with Gordy? Through his experiences in Five Oaks? What does Patsy learn? 11. Why do you think the adolescents of Five Oaks react the way they do after Gordy Himmelman’s death? Is it indicative of Five Oaks, the Midwest, our society as a whole? Do you think the reaction is realistic? 12. Discuss the role and importance of the media and television in the novel. Is the author making a social commentary on the media and its omnipresence? 13. At various points throughout Saul and Patsy , characters invade other characters’ privacy. Give some specific instances of characters trespassing or spying on other characters. What is really going on in these situations? 14. Discuss the significance of the conclusion. Why does the novel end this way? What do you think is in the future for Saul and Patsy?

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