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A Prayer for the Dying Discussion questions
A Prayer for the Dying
A Novel
by Stewart O’Nan
ISBN-10: 0-312-42891-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-42891-4
About this Guide
The following author biography and list of questions about A Prayer for the Dying are intended as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn more about the author and this book. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which you might approach A Prayer for the Dying.
About the Book
Set in Friendship, Wisconsin, just after the Civil War, A Prayer for the Dying tells of a horrible epidemic that is suddenly and gruesomely killing the town's residents and setting off a terrifying paranoia. Jacob Hansen, Friendship's sheriff, undertaker, and pastor, is soon overwhelmed by the fear and anguish around him, and his sanity begins to fray. Dark, poetic, and chilling, A Prayer for the Dying examines the effect of madness and violence on the morality of a once-decent man.
About the Author
Stewart O’Nan’s novels include Last Night at the Lobster, The Night Country, and A Prayer for the Dying. He is also the author of the nonfiction books The Circus Fire and, with Stephen King, the bestselling Faithful. Granta named him one of the Twenty Best Young American Novelists. He lives in Connecticut.
Discussion Questions
1. The book is narrated in the second person, addressing the main character, Jacob, as “you.” Who is speaking? Why do you think the author chose this mode to tell the story?
2. When Jacob is called to take care of Clytie, he has a very hard time pulling the trigger. Look at the passage (p. 49) in which he has to convince himself to kill her. Why does he agonize when he knows it’s the right thing? What does it mean that he’s “still clinging to some dream of innocence, blamelessness”? Does he continue to cling to that dream later in the story?
3. Why does Jacob elect to bleed and treat the bodies of some victims, even after Doc has told him not to, and even though he knows he’s putting himself in danger? Why is precision and diligence so important to him even when everyone around him is worried only about survival?
4. What role does religious faith play in the story? How does it influence Jacob, Chase, and other citizens of Friendship? Is their faith rewarded?
5. Jacob is a veteran of the Civil War. How does his experience there affect the way he behaves in the crisis in Friendship? How did the war change him?
6. How would you describe the relationship between Jacob and Doc? How do their different ideas about the world lead to different strategies for handling the outbreak in Friendship?
7. How does Jacob’s relationship with Marta affect his behavior in the outbreak? How do his priorities as a father and husband conflict with his responsibility to the town?
8. How do you interpret the book’s ending? What is Jacob choosing when he returns to Friendship? What do you imagine happening to him next?
9. Is Jacob sane at the end of the book? How does the author demonstrate the changes in his mind as conditions worsen?
10. “You’ve stopped believing in evil,” the narrator says of Jacob early in the story (p. 6). “Is that a sin?” Is there evil in this story? Does Jacob come to see it by the end?
11. How do the book’s two epigraphs relate to each other? Why do you think the author chose them?
12. Jacob is committed throughout the book to saving Friendship, and willing to sacrifice himself if necessary. Is he naïve? Does his commitment to principle do more harm than good in the end? Begin working on second person short stories.
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1.) Jacob is playing the role of sheriff in the first chapter. The author of the novel uses the personal pronoun ‘you’ to, in a way, to directly involve the reader in the story; this combined with the premise creates an eerie and haunting effect.
ReplyDelete2.) Jacob doesn’t want Clytie to suffer, but he also does not want to be responsible for her death. He clings to the innocence because it is just an animal.
3.) He does it out of respect and dedication to his multiple professions. He sometimes feels conflicted being the undertaker, sheriff and minister. He is a man of honor and takes all of his jobs seriously.
1.The author uses second person to pull the reader in and immerse them in the plot of thew story.In the first chapter Jacob is speaking.
ReplyDelete2. Jacob doesn't want to kill Clytie because even through a mercy killing it is still killing He knows that if he kills Clytie he is responsible for the death.
3.He does it anyway because that's the way you're supposed to. He has much respect for his job and he believes it is the best way to do it, he has a lot of respect for all of his jobs.
1. The narrator chose to switch to second person to engage and trap the readers attention.
ReplyDelete2.Jacob chose not to kill Clytie since if he kills them at all hes still responsible for the death.
3. Since he has so much respect for his job he believes that he plays a important role in his community and doesnt complian.
1. The book is narrated in the second person, addressing the main character, Jacob, as “you.” Who is speaking? Why do you think the author chose this mode to tell the story?
ReplyDeleteJacob is speaking but the author addresses any action done by him as being done by you. the author chose to do it this way because it creates deeper feelings
2. When Jacob is called to take care of Clytie, he has a very hard time pulling the trigger. Look at the passage (p. 49) in which he has to convince himself to kill her. Why does he agonize when he knows it’s the right thing? What does it mean that he’s “still clinging to some dream of innocence, blamelessness”? Does he continue to cling to that dream later in the story?
he still clings to innocence because without it, he would break. he has to pretend that he didn't hurt or kill anything he considered "friend". as the story progresses he starts to waver.
3. Why does Jacob elect to bleed and treat the bodies of some victims, even after Doc has told him not to, and even though he knows he’s putting himself in danger? Why is precision and diligence so important to him even when everyone around him is worried only about survival?
he can't stand to feel that he is disrespecting the victim or their family: he hates the sad look in thieir eyes. precision is very important of Jacob. he was once told that if your going to do something do it right. the more important the victim is to him the more he wants it to be his "best".