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The Wanting Seed Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. A number of the novel's characters are obviously disgusted by homosexuality. Does the novel's narrative voiceshare their prejudice?
  2. Are Beatrice-Joanna's prejudices (for instance, her white supremacism and her homophobia) the narrative voice'sprejudices too, or are they targets of the novel's satire and critique?
  3. How might a historicist reading of The Wanting Seed deal with its representations of race and racialization? Could the real-life historical context of the decline of the British Empire in the mid-twentieth century illuminate the book?
  4. How does The Wanting Seed represent human nature?
  5. If you were asked to put together a soundtrack for The Wanting Seed, what tracks would make the cut? Would you go for English folk songs? British Punk? Mumford and Sons? Lorde?