Much of Dos Passos's fame rests on his often poetic language. Even if his ideas do not appeal to group members and his characters seem flat, his prose style may of itself inspire discussion. How does he construct his imagery? How does he use words to make the action come alive? More controversial are his ideas. In his own day, many people considered him to be a radical, although political extremists often detested him for his criticism of their abuses of people. Are group members able to discern Dos Passos' own political leanings in the text of Adventures of a Young Man? Does he seem to subscribe to any of the ideologies featured in the novel? Another approach to discussion would be to focus on the novel's characters. Dos Passos often created characters to represent ideas, but often for the purpose of showing how destructive an...