1. Like Metalious's other novels, Tight White Collar attacks conventional notions of the "American Dream." How and why does it do so?

2. Depictions of gender, especially of women, forms a central place in this novel. How are women portrayed and what does that portrayal tell us about the place of women in this culture?

3. Again, the small town atmosphere with its almost suffocating closeness permeates the novel. What is the fiction saying about the small town?

4. How does the community react to the evasions of conventional behavior by the various characters in the novel?

5. Although quite common today, the presence of a gay character, the music teacher David Strong, in Tight White Collar places this novel among the earliest to openly deal with this subject. How is David portrayed?

6. The very tite of the novel, a tight white collar suggests a class struggle with those who wear...