Volkswagen Blues

Why does Jack maintain “the insane hope that old Peckinpah would call” him (25)? What does Sam Peckinpah represent to Jack? When Jack returns to Quebec at the end of the novel, will he still be hoping for a call from Peckinpah? Why or why not?

The last postcard Théo sent Jack was from the museum in Gaspé, but the message is a copy of a text written in old French, which Jack can’t read. When La Grande Sauterelle sees the card, she says, “If your brother has taken the trouble to have an old text printed on a postcard, there must have been a reason. He was sending a message, don’t you think?” (6). Considering what they learn at the museum about the old text and what they learn about Théo, what message was he sending to Jack?

Jack and La Grande Sauterelle go to the Detroit Institute of Arts to see a painting by Diego Rivera. It depicts automobile machinery and factory workers and gives the impression of “sadness and exhaustion” (65). The only bright spot is a tiny red car, off in the distance. What is the significance of this painting in the context of the novel? In what ways might it be a commentary on the American Dream? What does the red car symbolize?

Volkswagen Blues refers to many different books and authors, including Saul Bellow’s The Adventures of Auggie March. Jack reads an excerpt from the book that begins, “I am a sort of Columbus of those near-at-hand and believe you can come to them in this immediate terra incognita that spreads out in every gaze” (79). What is this excerpt saying about exploration and the knowledge it affords? How does it compare with the idea of exploration that Jack associates with Étienne Brûlé and his other heroes? How does this excerpt bear on the idea of writing as exploration?

The subject of Chapter 16 is La Grande Sauterelle’s black cat, who here, almost midway through the novel, finally acquires a name: Chop Suey. Explain the role or purpose of the cat in the novel. What might he symbolize? Consider, in particular, the qualities attributed to him, his “lineage” (110), and the observation that he grows throughout the story.

La Grande Sauterelle argues that “a book is never complete in itself; to understand it you must put it in relation to other books” or texts (124). Volkswagen Blues includes a number of different texts within its pages, including poems, songs, photographs, and excerpts from other published books. Select two of these included texts and discuss how, by being “put in relation” to each other and Volkswagen Blues, they enhance the meaning of the novel.

What does the Oregon Trail symbolize to Jack before they set out on their journey along it? What does it represent to him afterwards? If Jack was searching for happiness, did he find it?

In Chapter 20, Jack remarks that Chimney Rock looks like “a big broken phallus” (142). How does the novel subvert conventional gender roles and expectations in Chapter 20, among other scenes, and why does it?