Characters
Why does Spiros go crazy? Where does he go?
Because he gets sick. He goes to an asylum.
: Dr. Copeland and Portia are important characters of the story. They are constantly forced to battle prejudice and hate. Why might this be? Given the setting and the era the book was written.
: The setting of the book was written during the Jim Crow era in the 1930s where racial discrimination, unjust treatment, and violent assaults on black people were not uncommon. Dr. Copeland was beaten up by a police officer during his testimony only because he accused the police officer of lying about Dr.Copeland drinking.
What type of stories did McCullers books usually revolve around?
Her stories tended to take place in the deep south along with loneliness and isolation within that setting.
How do you think Mccullers own experience growing up in the South influenced her illustration/depiction of the setting and/or the context?
Mccullers own experience growing up in the South allowed her to develop a real and nuanced depiction of the setting. Growing up a woman she realized the very real gender norms that were still prevailing and expanded that with the various other broader issues she likely saw growing up as well such as segregation and economic insecurity as well.
How old was Carson Mccullers when she published the book?
23
John Singer. He shows this theme by not being able to share his own troubles with anyone, since spiros is gone.
Who are the people/person in this book that are seen as a utility to others, rather than something that is misunderstood? How are they treated and seen by others?
Singer is an impaired person that is used by the different characters as a sort of therapist. Most of the characters never try to understand who he is and where he is from, they only assume that he is this saint who cares for other people. This results in Singer, ironically, being more lonely than ever.
There are many characters in McCullers book. But there are characters that she sympathizes more with than others. Given the different characters’s analyses, which character do you assume McCullers most connects with and why?
It is evident that Mick Kelley is the character that McCullers based herself on. As mentioned, Mick Kelley and McCuller both aspired to pursue careers in music and they both dressed differently than other kids.
Why does Mcculler never mention a name for the town in which the novel takes place and what does it signify?
: Mccullers likely wanted the town to essentially represent any southern town during the 1930s which highlights just how unjust, poor, and common towns like these were in the south during this time.
What instrument did Mick Kelly want to play?
Piano!
Up for debate with the class! Decide upon an answer.
What is the indirectly stated problem/roadblock to characters of the small industrial town that prevent them from having the things they desire?
Economic strain plays a big role in the lives of the characters. For example, Mick Kelley is unable to get a piano because her family cannot afford one. If it weren't for them being unwealthy, Mick would be following her dream playing the Piano Jack Blount’s job as a mechanic only paid him $12 per week which is only $268 in today's money and he was living off that.
How does McCuller design her story to fit a certain format?
: McCullers says that The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter is to be aligned with that of a “three-part fugue” which is essentially the introduction of separate themes that become intertwined by the end of the performance.
How does the novel illustrate the racial tensions of the South during the 1930s?
As we already know segregation was a huge component to the south during the 1930s through Jim Crow laws, and we can see the novel illustrates the racial tensions of the south during the 1930s through Dr. Copeland(and more) seeing his pursuit of equality as well as the sheer amount of discrimination he faced throughout the novel from verbal to beaten for speaking his mind about his support for racial equality. Similarly, many black Americans advocated for their rights and were consistently repressed for their advocacy.
What special place is both in the book and in Mr. Morris' classroom?
New York Cafe
Which characters has a strong belief in socialism? And which character do they converse with over this topic?
Jake Blount and Dr. Copeland
: What is the general emotion that is conveyed through the story's setting and the story in general? How does McCullers use the setting to emphasize this emotion?
: Isolation and loneliness are the main emotions that are prevalent throughout the story. McCullers does not name the town they are in nor does she give the name of any surrounding cities or provide hints of surrounding cities. It feels as if this town is stranded with no outside world.
What techniques does McCuller utilize to help the reader visualize who the characters are and who they represent?
McCullers swiftly changes the point of view between characters to give further insight into each of them rather than them being described constantly from an outside perspective. She also has heavy use of dialogue that aids in character development.
What events or social issues were prevalent in the South during the 1930s? How did they influence the characters in the novel?
: The 1930s were marked by the Great Depression, Jim Crow(Segregation), and Gender Inequality. The Great Depression pushed characters into poverty or economic instability causing them like Mick Kelly to give up on their dreams, or heighten their feelings of despair like Jake Blount. Gender Inequality influenced characters in the novel by stopping or slowing them down from achieving their goals such as Mick who constantly is judged for her musical passions. Jim Crow’s influence lies within stopping the black characters from ever achieving social justice or fair treatment, which leads them to have to be careful and essentially walk on tip toes to hopefully not get oppressed or even assaulted.
Jewish
What is the purpose of making each character's personality so intense? What does Mccullers achieve through doing this. What example did Jacob use during class to describe this? (250 bonus points if you remember)
It allows mccullers to inject her own personality into each character, personalizing her emotions and then animating them into life through the use of her novel. Jacob compared this to the move inside out.
Give an example of one or two characters that demonstrate how they are unfit and unheard by the rest of the characters.
John Singer or Dr. Copeland are both victims of isolation. John Singer has no voice to project his emotions to other people and he can't express them very well either. His only friend was Antonopolous and when he passed away, Singer had no one. Dr. Copeland is very educated among people who are not as exceptionally educated as he is, this leads to people being ignorant towards him and becoming brick walls whenever he tries to share his true feelings.
: McCullers tries to emphasize a type of character and how that character came to be how they are. Who are these characters and how did they become part of that category?
The type of characters that are being highlighted are those that are outcasted from society with no voice. They are outcasted given their race, disability or political standing but are comforted only when someone actually listens to them
How does Mccullers writing the novel to reflect that of a fugue affect the reader's understanding of the broader historical or social issues?
It mainly shows how connected, despite multiple perspectives and issues that each character may be “tagged” along with, the broader issues are as a fugue eventually intertwines into one central theme which could give the reader the understanding that the broader issues at the time like the Great Depression or Social Injustice are truly connected with the lump some of people facing the Great Depression also being those that are thought to be at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
Who gets shot with a bb gun? By who?
Bubber shoots Baby.