Essay Questions

Throughout the novel, references to the fictional lion Aslan are seen. Where do they pop up in the novel, and what role do they play?

The first mention of Aslan, at least by name, is when Gary’s son Jonah is reading the Chronicles of Narnia. He is enchanted by the stories, it uses it as an escape from the stress and tension of his home. Once Caroline and Gary’s fighting escalates, Caroline shows more interest in the books and is shown reading and discussing them with Jonah. The next mention of Aslan is on Alfred and Enid’s cruise, when the ship doctor convinces her to go on an experimental drug called Aslan to help her sleep. Chip also unknowingly goes on this drug when he goes on the Thanksgiving weekend sex-fueled trip with his student Melissa. In both of these cases, the drug Aslan is being used as an escape from the monotony and stress of everyday life, just like Jonah and Caroline are using the books as a fictional retreat from their family. In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan is symbolic of Jesus Christ, the savior and forgiver of sins in Christian religion. The use of Aslan in The Corrections has the effect of showing the similar need for relief between each of the main characters. Due to the novel’s nature as a humorous critique of society, allusions to Aslan could also possibly be used to mock the dependence on religion for redemption and escape.

What are examples of economic or money-related diction in the book, and what purpose do they serve?

The book was published in 2001, during one of the best economic booms in recent American history, and right before a major recession. The money-based conflicts shown in the novel help to show the situation of regular families during this time, and these conflicts are reinforced by the use of financial allusions and references. When Chip is frantically shopping for lunch for his family’s visit, the boards at the grocery store read “TODAY’S PROFIT and PROJECTED QUARTERLY PER-SHARE DIVIDEND” (93). These all-capitalized spurts of financial gibberish highlight Chip’s inability to pay and make the reader feel stress like Chip does. When Gary goes to the Axon presentation, the speaker intersperses his talk about the scientific breakthroughs of his technology with jargon about the financial possibilities. Lines like “we have a six-year track record of positive cash flows and a revenue stream that we expect to top eighty million dollars in the coming year” (203) are included to show the emphasis that is put on money in society, even when talking about a possible life-saving medical procedure. Instances like these throughout the book help make the book a critique of the emphasis put on wealth.

The Corrections tells the interconnected stories of a struggling midwestern couple and their children. What, if any, are the parallels between Alfred and his sons?

The tension between Alfred and his children stems not only from Alfred’s sickness, but more from the kids’ insistence that they are nothing like Alfred and their frantic desire to not act like him. This causes Gary to be in terrified denial about his own depression and mental illness, further worsening the divide between him and his wife. Even though Gary refuses to work more than 40 hours a week, to avoid becoming dependent on his job like Alfred, the office is the only place he feels happy and his life still centers around money. Gary parallels his father in both his mental illness and work life. Chip and Alfred’s similarities stem from both of their academic brightness, and their depression. Ironically, it is in a way because of Chip and Gary’s attempts to not be like that their father that they come to share some of his characteristics: his stubbornness and mental illness.