82 pages 2 hours read

Jennifer Egan

A Visit from the Goon Squad

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 2010

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Essay Topics

1.

A Visit from the Goon Squad employs a variety of storytelling styles, forms, and points of view. Choose three chapters and contrast the narrative style of each, discussing how the differing styles contribute to our reading of the novel as a whole.

2.

In “Ask Me if I Care,” Jocelyn refers to Bennie as a cholo and predicts that Alice will never love him because “rich girls won’t go with cholos” (42). Choose three characters in the novel and discuss how they are affected by their race or cultural background. 

3.

How does Egan use technology in A Visit from the Goon Squad to explore ideas about humanity and time?