Essay Questions

What are George’s main afflictions throughout the novel?

George has what is assumed to be identity dissociative disorder, which manifests itself in his dissociation from reality. He is also very obsessive, and quickly falls in love with a woman named Netta. He becomes angry at her for not returning his affection, and when she does it is not enough. He has an intense hatred towards her and becomes rather crazy, lashing out at her in increasingly violent ways. He continues disassociating, which makes him enter an alternate state in which he wants to kill her. This pursuit follows him and his alternate personality throughout the novel, to its end. He kills her in a burst of passion, his friend, and then himself, all as his alternate personality.

What are the means that Netta takes to escape George?

Netta, at first, tries to ignore George by blowing him off and refusing dates. He quickens his pursuit of her, and she eventually accepts a date, which does not go well. She responds by berating him, which she thinks will fend him off. It does not. She accompanies him on a trip, using him and his money to meet someone else, and then ignores him for someone else. She continues to use him, and uses his affection and money to go to Maidenhead, where she again abandons him. She avoids him until her death, where George brutally drowns her.

How are the side characters vehicles that further George’s madness?

First, Johnny is tied to Netta when he knows someone that she wants to meet. This furthers Netta’s entanglement with George as she continues to use him to get what she wants. This makes George angry and confused as he deals with the mixed feelings of finding Netta with someone else. Eddie is someone that Netta idolizes, which creates a lot of jealousy for George when he realizes that he is not the subject of her affection. Halliwell is George’s only real friend, but this provides a sharp contrast for us between the two; one sane, one insane. Peter, finally, is the penultimate death in the novel, one of the last tasks that George had to complete in his madness before he could finally rest. His death symbolizes the death of George’s masculinity and ties to the rational world, as well as severing all Earthly ties to Netta.