Essay Questions

A frequently encountered image in the novel is empty houses; what do these empty houses symbolize?

The empty houses are parallels of the characters--outwardly beautiful and pleasing to look at but largely empty inside, save for a couple of cc’s of prescription drugs. The empty houses are also the author’s open criticism and in-novel representation of the “American Dream:” an empty, futile pursuit where a person strives hard to find himself/herself in a job they don’t like to buy a house and a lifestyle they can’t afford with money they don’t have to please people they don’t like.

Freedom is a central theme in the novel; how do the characters Shannon and Shane achieve freedom?

Both characters feel trapped in a condition they were born in: Shannon was born beautiful and as a fashion model she felt that people only valued her for her beauty and how they could leverage that beauty. Shane on the other hand is gay and feels immense pressure trying to live up to expectations of their parents impose on him because of his gender. Both characters achieve their individual “freedoms” by changing the situations and/or removing the condition that held them back: Shannon disfigures herself and Shane fakes his death and undergoes a gender reassignment procedure to transform himself into a woman.

Why does The Narrator/Shannon decide to leave all of her ID’s with Brandy/Shane?

After much introspection The Narrator/Shannon decides that she really does love her brother, Brandy/Shane. As a “parting gift” she leaves all her ID’s featuring her photos as she appeared prior to her self-mutilation--an appearance that most closely matches Brandy/Shane’s post-gender reassignment surgery look. In doing this The Narrator/Shannon effectively gives her brother what he most dearly desires: The Narrator/Shannon’s identity as a beautiful woman. The act of leaving all of her ID’s is also symbolic; in leaving behind all that she was she is now free to pursue who she really wants to be.