Read through pages 47-98 of Goodbye, Columbus and answer the following questions:
Read through pages 49-54, the section where Neil and Brenda are swimming at night. How would you describe Neil’s demeanor during this time? Why is he described the following ways: as having “crazy thoughts,” feeling “a weird fright,” and insisting Brenda to stop playing “games” (53). Do you think he really loves her when he states as much on the top of page 54? What else could it be? Explain your answer.
Read through the passage on pages 67-69 when Brenda and Neil go into the Patimkin storeroom. In what ways does this passage hint at the class differences between the two characters? In terms of continuing their relationship, what financial choices will Brenda and Neil have to make? Explain your answer using places in the text.
Read through pages 74 and 75 when Neil describes his dream with the boy from the library. In what ways is Neil similar to the boy? How does this dream inform Neil’s current circumstances with Brenda and the Patimkins? How does this dream inform the boy relationship with the library and the Gauguin paintings? Explain your answer using places from the text.
Read through the passage on the bottom of page 95 and the top of page 96. When Neil sees the “Young white-skinned mothers” what do you think he is thinking about? How does the mothers’ position relate to his current life? What does Neil mean when he states, “Money and comfort would not erase [Brenda’s] singleness–they hadn’t yet, or had they?” (96)? How can “money and comfort” erase one’s “singleness”? Do you think this has occurred to Brenda? Explain your answer.
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