Narrator Robert C. "Bobby" Luczak frequently recalls events from his youth in Chicago, IL. Pick one of these and discuss how it clarifies his personality and adds to the story line at that point.

Amrita Luczak debates writer M. L. Chatterjee about the influence of specific cultural traits in explaining the universal phenomenon of violence. Summarize their arguments and explain why you agree with one or the other.

Narrator Robert C. ("Bobby") Luczak, a life-long pacifist, would like to see Calcutta, India, leveled by nuclear weapons. A life-long opponent of gun ownership, he twice obtains guns, is implicit in one suicide, and barely escapes becoming a mass murderer. Describe what brings about this transformation and how it makes him feel about himself.

How are India's various religions treated in this novel? How are they alike and how do they differ? Does the treatment seem...