Eng. Reading 19
Mr. Shimada
October 13, 1997

The Assistant, Chapter 6 (pp. 117-151)

　

  1. How does Helen think of Frank now? What do you think is the significance of her dream on page 117?
  2. How does Frank think of Helen? What does he want from her and how does Helen respond to his need?
  3. Why does Helen refuse to sleep with Frank when he visits his room? What do you think of the scene?
  4. Comment on the following:

...but then to his surprise, the idea seized him. He thought of himself as disciplined, then wished he were... (p. 126)

What do you think Frank means by the following remarks?

"I want you to know I am a very good guy in my heart." (p. 126)

"Even when I am bad I am good." (p. 126)

  1. Why do you think "Morris, thinking of the stolen milk, gazed guiltily at his assistant"? (p. 128)
  2. How does Ward Minogue look like when he visits Frank?
  3. What does Ida do when she finds Helen seeing Frank? How does Morris respond to the fact?
  4. Why does Julius Karp visits Morris? What do you think of Karp and his plan?
  5. What does Karp tell Morris about Schmitz and his store? Comment on the following: "He was thinking of Frank with a violent sense of outrage, of having been deceived." (p. 140) Why do you think Morris has felt that way?
  6. What does Morris decide to do and what does Frank decide to do on page 141? Comment on the following passages:

...although at times he had liked having the acid weight of it in him because it had made him feel he was at least that different from other people. (pp. 141-2)

The past was the past and the hell with it. He had unwillingly taken part in a hold-up, but he was, like Morris, more of a victim of Ward Minogue. (p. 142)

  1. How is Frank fired? Consider the irony of the incident. (cf. "this shouldn't be happening to me, for I am a different person now." p. 146) How does Morris feel about Frank when he ordered him to leave?
  2. How does Helen's date with Nat go? (pp. 147-8)
  3. What has happened to Helen in the park? Why do you think Helen has cried, "Dog--uncircumcised dog!" at the end of the chapter? What do you think of the incident?