Brighton Rock Essay Questions

Throughout the novel, women are referred to by the men pejoratively as "bitches" and "polonies," and in general are treated despicably. Reading the story from a contemporary perspective with a greater awareness of misogyny, what critical insights might one have that could have eluded readers at the time of the book's publication?

After committing the murder of Hale, Pinkie, for the rest of the novel, has one mission: to silence those with knowledge of this murder. For Spicer, this comes easily enough in the form of another murder, but for Rose, the method is, not coincidentally, silencing. Where physical intimidation with the bottle of vitriol does not seem to work, Pinkie must resort to devious seduction and eventually the legally grounded principle that a wife cannot testify against her husband. This deprivation of her freedom and speech serves as a substitute for physical violence against her and is only possible because she is a woman: Pinkie would not be able to silence a man in the same way.

How does the setting of the novel contribute to its overall storytelling?

Greene, who had himself visited Brighton several times, was aware of the particular irony of the resort town that behind its rosy, vacation-friendly exterior concealed an entire impoverished underworld, which would produce such anguished and savage characters as Pinkie Brown. The contrast between the upper and lower classes doubles the misery of proletarians like Pinkie, since they sense the society they are excluded from.

At the ending of the story, Rose is about to hear the recording Pinkie made for her. What might be her reaction to his message of hate, and why? Cite textual evidence to support your view.

Even though Pinkie frequently mistreats Rose, she operates on the assumption that he loves her; this allows her to forgive him for everything, including murder and their mutually corrupting each other, in a religious sense, by having intercourse. Pinkie's recording, which Rose believes to be the one instance where Pinkie declares his love for her and therefore a foundation upon which she can base her new life, actually serves as the poison that will rob her of all assurances. It is the vitriol that Pinkie had threatened her with from the beginning.

What is the significance of Kite's murder to the story?

Pinkie's violent vengefulness and willingness to exploit and harm others comes from his sense of hurt from having lost Kite, who was a father figure and role model for him. Without Kite, Pinkie was stuck in a formless world filled with the trauma of parents who had sex in front of him and presumably neglected if not also mistreated him; Kite's bringing Pinkie into the life of the mob gave him a way to make sense of all this pain. Thus, Pinkie has to rebuild his life through destruction after losing his mainstay.

Rose and Pinkie are both the only Roman Catholics and the only characters from extreme poverty in the novel. What is the significance of the conjunction of these two identities?

Catholics have been an oppressed minority throughout British history, especially among the lower classes. In Greene's understanding of Catholicism, the much more profound sense of guilt and moral stakes in everyday life both allows for those living wretched lives to feel greater meaning and compels them into a deeper psychological sense of bondage.