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1. Describe the irony between Bogus's medical issues and his father's career.

Although Bogus's father is a urologist, he is not able to solve or even diagnose Bogus's problem. This could be seen as a Freudian suggestion that Bogus does not feel adequate to follow in his father's footsteps or compete with him.

2. Compare and contrast Bogus's and Tulpen's views for a medical solution.

Both Bogus and Tulpen agree that there is a problem and that something should be done about it. However, Tulpen works with facts and believes the fact is that problems should be fixed, so she supports the idea of surgery. Bogus would rather avoid any necessary pain or work, both in this situation and in life in general. He opts for the Water-Method which becomes his new ritual.

3. How are Bogus's plumbing problems symbolic of his medical issues?

It seems as though Bogus's urination can represent everything in his life. Nothing works very well, and he must constantly prepare to repair everything around him. But, this somehow seems like his doing. There also seems to be obvious symbolism between Bogus's problems with urination and his problems with his plumbing. The problems even have the same nature. They are not terribly painful, but backing up often enough to be a real nuisance. It appears that, though Bogus is desperately poor, he does not think that the way to fix that is to work hard.

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