47 pages • 1 hour read
The Sea
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Essay Topics
Max decides to return to the Cedars after dreaming of trudging through the snow in search of an ever-deferred “homecoming” (25). How does this dream alter your reading of the narrative as a whole?
Using examples from the book, discuss the portrayal of memory in Banville’s The Sea. What is the work suggesting about its key characteristics?
Discuss the uses of literary and artistic allusion in Banville’s The Sea. How, for example, are they connected to the book’s portrayal of memory?
Anna’s last words are “They are stopping the clocks” and “I have stopped time” (240). Use these statements as a starting point to analyze the theme of time in the novel.
Toward the end of the novel, Max reflects, “I think I am becoming my own ghost” (193). What does he mean by this?
Banville first drafted The Sea as a third-person narrative. Consider the ways in which the narrative perspective shapes the experience of reading the novel.
Consider the roles of social class, education, and money in Banville’s novel. In particular, how do they inform the development of Max’s personality?
Discuss the function of Anna’s final photographs in relation to the depiction of the human body in the novel as a whole. How do Anna’s photos compare to Bonnard’s intimate representations of Marthe?
How does Banville deal with themes of sexual awakening and curiosity in his novel?
Discuss Banville’s depiction of childhood in The Sea. How does the adult Max perceive and relate to himself as a child?
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