DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Empire Falls |
1. Richard Russo's
description of the town of Empire Falls is as memorable and vivid as his
portraits of the people who live there. How do the details he provides
about the town's setting and its streets, buildings and neighborhoods
create more than a physical backdrop against which the story is played
out? How does the use of flashbacks strengthen the sense of the town as
a "living" character?
2. "One of the good things about small towns, Miles's mother had
always maintained, was that they accommodated just about everyone" [p.
21]. Is this an accurate description of Empire Falls? Which characters
in particular benefit from this attitude? What influences the level of
tolerance Miles is willing to extend to Max Roby, Walt Comeau and Jimmy
Minty, all of whom are constant irritants to him? What does he see as
the redeeming characteristics of each of them?
3. Why is his relationship with Tick so important to Miles? In what
ways is it reminiscent of his mother's attachment to him? How do Grace's
expectations for Miles, as well as her ultimate disappointment in him,
shape the way he is raising Tick?
4. Even before the full story of Grace and Max's marriage is
revealed, what hints are there that Grace was less than the ideal wife
and mother Miles remembers and reveres? Why does Miles choose to accept
his mother's version of events of their trip to Martha's Vineyard, even
though it entails a betrayal of his father [pp. 136-47]? When Miles
finally realizes who Charlie Mayne really is, does it change his
feelings about Grace in a significant way? Would he have felt
differently if Grace were still alive and able to answer his questions
[pp.338-9]? How doesMiles's own situation—particularly his separation
from Janine and his discovery of the relationship between Charlene and
David—color his reaction to his mother's affair? How does his brief
conversation with Max about Grace and Charlie [p. 373] shed light on the
relationship between father and son?
5. Janine calls Miles "The World's Most Transparent Man" [p. 42]
and Tick says, "It's not like you don't have any [secrets].... It's just
that everybody figures them out" [p. 107]. Does Mrs. Whiting share this
image of Miles? What evidence is there that she sees and understands
more about the "real" Miles than the people closest to him do?
6. How does Russo use minor characters to fill out his portraits of
the main figures? What roles do Horace Weymouth, Bea Majeski, Charlene
and Otto Meyer play in shaping your impressions of and opinions about
Miles, Janine and Tick?
7. How do David's feelings about Mrs. Whiting and the Empire Grill
differ from Miles's? Whose attitude is more realistic? Is David's harsh
criticism of Miles's passivity [pp. 224-5] justified? What insights does
it give you into David's character? Is David more content with his life
than Miles is with his own, and if so, why?
8. Charlene tells Miles: "David has this theory that between your
mom and dad and him and you there's, like, one complete person" [p.
226]. Has each member of the family selected a particular role, or has
it been thrust upon him or her? Is the division of roles a natural part
of family life? Which member of the Roby family is the "most complete, "
and what sacrifices did he or she make to establish a strong individual
identity?
9. What does Father Mark offer Miles that he cannot get from his
other relationships? Is Miles drawn to him only because he is a priest?
Why does Russo depict both priests as flawed men—Father Mark by his
sexual longings and Father Tom by his dementia? How would you
characterize the impact of Catholicism on Miles and Grace? Does
attending church genuinely comfort them, or is it a convenient way of
hiding from the problems in their lives and the decisions they have
made? In what ways do Grace's confession to Father Tom and the penance
he demands affect her character and her outlook on life?
10. Why does Tick befriend John Voss? How does her sense of
responsibility for him compare to Miles's feelings—both when he's a
child and a grown man—about Cindy Whiting? Are the differences
attributable to the circumstances that bring each pair together, or do
they reflect something deeper about Tick's and Miles's morality and
their ability to empathize with other people? What other incidents
demonstrate Tick's understanding of what other people need? Why is she
unable to treat Janine in the same comfortable, nonjudgmental way she
treats Miles and Max Roby?
11. Would you define Mrs. Whiting as a mother figure for Miles?
Does she perceive herself in this way? Does Miles? Beneath their very
different personas, what traits do Mrs. Whiting and Grace share? Do they
represent strengths and weaknesses usually associated with women? In
what ways does Mrs. Whiting's description of her relationship with Grace
[p. 435] reaffirm their similarities? Which woman is more honest with
herself about her motivations and feelings?
12. All of the marriages in Empire Falls fail in one way or
another. Does your sense of who is responsible for each marital
breakdown change as the events of the past and present unfold? Discuss
the contrast between the way each of these marriages is initially
described and the "real" stories: Grace and Max; Mr. and Mrs. Whiting;
Miles and Janine. Mrs. Whiting says "Most people...marry the wrong
people for all the wrong reasons. For reasons so absurd they can't even
remember what they were a few short months after they've pledged
themselves forever" [p. 169]. How does this assessment apply to the
marriages mentioned above?
13. From the almost unimaginable cruelty of John Voss's parents to
Mrs. Whiting's coldness toward Cindy, to Grace's emotional withdrawal
from David (and to some extent Miles) when she joins the Whiting
household, the novel contains several examples of the emotional and
physical harm parents inflict on their children. Why do you think Russo
made this a central theme of the book? Does it adequately explain, or
even justify, behavior you would otherwise find completely unacceptable?
14. Empire
Falls traces three very different families—the Whitings, the
Robys, and the Mintys—through several generations. What do each of these
families represent in terms of American society in general? How do their
fates embody the economic and social changes that have occurred over the
last century? To what extent are the members of the current generation
trapped by the past?
15. What does Empire Falls provide that its residents might not be
able to find in another town or city? Does living in a small town
necessarily limit the satisfactions people get out of life? Miles says,
"After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to
yearn for their hearts' impossible desires, for those desires to become
entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of
time?" [p. 295]. Is he right? Which characters might have had better,
more fulfilling lives if they had moved away from?
16. In contemplating the past year, Tick says, "Just because things
happen slow doesn't mean you'll be ready for them. If they happened
fast, you'd be alert for all kinds of suddenness. . . "Slow" works on an
altogether different principle, on the deceptive impression that there's
plenty of time to prepare" [p. 441]. How does this relate to the novel
as a whole and the way it is structured? Why has Russo chosen Tick to
express this insight?
17. What adjectives would you use to describe Empire Falls? How
does Russo make the story of a dying town (with more than its share of
losers) entertaining and engaging? Did you find most, if not all, of the
characters sympathetic in some way?
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