Write a post that responds to the following:
Choose one of the "general" questions about the novel that I reviewed in the introductory lecture to McCullers and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Write a post that responds to / reflects on possible answers to that question now that you've reached the end of the novel.
The questions are copied here for convenience:
- What is Singer's role in the story? Is he a protagonist, a plot device, a symbol? Something else?
- What is the role of hope in the book (it's pretty depressing -- is there any hopeful note that can be taken away from it)?
- Do any of the characters ever fully connect with other people?
- How does the historical and social context play a role in the characters lives, actions, or feelings (Great Depression, WWII, Jim Crow laws and conventions)?
- Mick is the only female lead character--what does this novel show us about girlhood, identity--about growing up a girl during this time?
- How does the novel's focus on identity change/influence the "meaning" of spaces and places? How is identity connected to place and community?