Questions for Middlesex
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Jessica Cole
Oct 17, 2010, 5:06:34 PM10/17/10
to san-diego-femi...@googlegroups.com
Hi friends,
Here are the questions I've put together from various websites and my own brain on our book this month: Middlesex.
(1-10, from about.com)
1. In what ways is Middlesex like stories in Greek mythology? Do you think it is a modern day myth?
2. Middlesex covers a lot of contemporary history, starting in 1922. Are there some historic events that you learned more about from the book? The burning of Smyrna? The founding of the Nation of Islam? The Detroit race riots/
3. Were you surprised by Lefty and Desdemona's courtship and marriage? Could you understand why they fell in love? Do you think their marriage was morally wrong?
4. In what ways is Callie's life as an intersex person similar to her family's lives as immigrants -- not quite one thing or the other?
5. Why do you think Tessie was drawn to MIlton?
6. Were you surprised by Father Mike's extortion and plan to abandon his family? Were their hints about his character earlier in the novel?
7. In what ways was Callie's relationship with the Obscure Object unique and in what ways was it like normal adolescent sexual exploration?
8. Why did Callie feel the need to run away after reading Dr. Luce's report? Do you think her parents could have accepted her decision not to have the surgery? Could Callie have changed her identity if she did not go out on her own?
9. What is your opinion of Dr. Luce?
10. Do you think Cal's relationship with Julie worked out? Did he, in his adult narrator self, change during the novel?
(11-18 from me, and various internet sources)
11. What's feminist about this book? What's not?
12. This book was suggested under the topic "alternative sexualities." Does it fit that cateogry? Is Cal's intersexuality central to the book or is that centrality something projected onto the book by our culture, the book's marketing, or some other external factor?
13. Is there an important difference between a story about an intersex person and a story about a person who happens to be intersex?
14. This book is written by a cis-gendered, straight, male from the perspective of an intersex person who ultimately identifies as a straight male. Does Middlesex, or parts of it, ring true for you? Which parts, and why? Are there any parts of the book that expose the author's privilege?
15. What do you think about the fact that Cal's intersexuality is portrayed to be a result of incest?
16. (from a comment on Shakesville by "ethel")
"I just read it, and liked it all right, but I did feel, as I often do reading Big Fat HIstorical Novels With Sex Scenes, that the whole thing was a bit voyeuristic. To what extent is the reader just like the people putting nickel after nickel into the slot in a scene towards the end?"
17. Does Cal seem more comfortable in one gender role than the another?
18. What role does race play in the novel? How do the Detroit riots of 1967 affect the Stephanides family and Cal, specifically?
Here are the questions I've put together from various websites and my own brain on our book this month: Middlesex.
(1-10, from about.com)
1. In what ways is Middlesex like stories in Greek mythology? Do you think it is a modern day myth?
2. Middlesex covers a lot of contemporary history, starting in 1922. Are there some historic events that you learned more about from the book? The burning of Smyrna? The founding of the Nation of Islam? The Detroit race riots/
3. Were you surprised by Lefty and Desdemona's courtship and marriage? Could you understand why they fell in love? Do you think their marriage was morally wrong?
4. In what ways is Callie's life as an intersex person similar to her family's lives as immigrants -- not quite one thing or the other?
5. Why do you think Tessie was drawn to MIlton?
6. Were you surprised by Father Mike's extortion and plan to abandon his family? Were their hints about his character earlier in the novel?
7. In what ways was Callie's relationship with the Obscure Object unique and in what ways was it like normal adolescent sexual exploration?
8. Why did Callie feel the need to run away after reading Dr. Luce's report? Do you think her parents could have accepted her decision not to have the surgery? Could Callie have changed her identity if she did not go out on her own?
9. What is your opinion of Dr. Luce?
10. Do you think Cal's relationship with Julie worked out? Did he, in his adult narrator self, change during the novel?
(11-18 from me, and various internet sources)
11. What's feminist about this book? What's not?
12. This book was suggested under the topic "alternative sexualities." Does it fit that cateogry? Is Cal's intersexuality central to the book or is that centrality something projected onto the book by our culture, the book's marketing, or some other external factor?
13. Is there an important difference between a story about an intersex person and a story about a person who happens to be intersex?
14. This book is written by a cis-gendered, straight, male from the perspective of an intersex person who ultimately identifies as a straight male. Does Middlesex, or parts of it, ring true for you? Which parts, and why? Are there any parts of the book that expose the author's privilege?
15. What do you think about the fact that Cal's intersexuality is portrayed to be a result of incest?
16. (from a comment on Shakesville by "ethel")
"I just read it, and liked it all right, but I did feel, as I often do reading Big Fat HIstorical Novels With Sex Scenes, that the whole thing was a bit voyeuristic. To what extent is the reader just like the people putting nickel after nickel into the slot in a scene towards the end?"
17. Does Cal seem more comfortable in one gender role than the another?
18. What role does race play in the novel? How do the Detroit riots of 1967 affect the Stephanides family and Cal, specifically?
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