Day 4

The Heart of the Matter Lesson Plan

Discussion of Thought Questions

  1. 1

    At the end of Chapter II, Greene writes that Scobie thinks, "Somewhere on the face of those obscure waters moved the sense of yet another wrong and another victim, not Louis, nor Helen." Who is the victim here?

    As a reader, it is unclear who the victim is here, unless is it Scobie himself. Is this a foreshadowing of Scobie's death at his own hand (don't spoil it for the students!). Which other people are possible "victims" of the affair? Wilson? If Scobie knows the affair is a "crime" with a victim, why does he do it? Is this a compulsion? A destiny? How does Helen feel? Speaking of which, will we ever see a woman's POV in this novel? Why or why not?

  2. 2

    Is Wilson's...

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