East of the Sun, Middle Chapters: Guy

[Rachel-K]

What is Guy's relationship with his parents like? Do they know about his condition? What do you make of their refusal to pay Viva?

The novel is set at a time when there is little popular understanding of mental illness. How do the people around Guy understand his behavior?

Is Guy capable of choosing what he does? Do you think he's planning out his actions? What do you expect from him?

Is there any (even illogical) reasoning behind his choosing Viva as an obsession?

[Julia_Gregson]

I've met some varieties of Guy in my time, victims of the English public school system whose parents have mostly lived abroad.  These boys do become sort of permanent defensive guests, unless they learn to truly survive on their own. 

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rkubie wrote:

What is Guy's relationship with his parents like? Do they know about his condition? What do you make of their refusal to pay Viva?

The novel is set at a time when there is little popular understanding of mental illness. How do the people around Guy understand his behavior?

Is Guy capable of choosing what he does? Do you think he's planning out his actions? What do you expect from him?

Is there any (even illogical) reasoning behind his choosing Viva as an obsession?

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[Fozzie]

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rkubie wrote:

Is there any (even illogical) reasoning behind his choosing Viva as an obsession?

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I think he chose Viva as his obsession because to him she represents his journey away from his unpleasant life in boarding school.  She represents a transition in his life.  Maybe in his mind, she provides him a segway to become what he has wanted or wished to become.

[Julia_Gregson]

I think she also becomes a kind of Mummy substitute, he is so lost and rudderless. She's also attractive so ...

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Fozzie wrote:

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rkubie wrote:

Is there any (even illogical) reasoning behind his choosing Viva as an obsession?

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I think he chose Viva as his obsession because to him she represents his journey away from his unpleasant life in boarding school.  She represents a transition in his life.  Maybe in his mind, she provides him a segway to become what he has wanted or wished to become.

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