Gentlemen and Players Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The English Grammar School System and our BookBrowse Review of Gentlemen and Players.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

Discussion Questions:

1. The favorite book of the young Snyde is The Invisible Man. Poe's law is also quoted: “The object that is hidden in plain sight remains unseen longest.” Through childhood and into adulthood, how does Snyde, in fact, become invisible?
   


2. Early in the novel, young Snyde says, "I felt cheated, as I often did when faced with the threat and assurances of the adult world, which promises so much and delivers so little." What does this say about the character? Give some examples of ways in which the adult world has cheated Snyde. Which do you feel has the longest lasting impact on Snyde as an adolescent? As an adult?
   


3. Throughout the novel, Snyde remembers days as a student in Sunnybank Park—and the desire then to be a student at St. Oswald's. What do you believe would have happened had Snyde been enrolled at St. Oswald's as a student? Would such a student have thrived academically? Been accepted socially? How might things have played out differently, if at all?
   

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Harper Perennial. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.