1. Besides their participation in athletics, how do Walker, Jeff, Lion, Nortie, and Max prove that they are Stotans?

2. Since it is clear that Jeff Hawkins is dying, why does Crutcher end the novel while Jeff is still alive?

3. The novel, which includes an interracial romance and depicts a white supremacist group, has a number of scenes in which the characters discuss racism. What does the novel suggest about the effects of racism and its origins?

4. What is Elaine's relationship to the four swimmers? Why will Walker never be able to become romantically involved with her?

5. What do Walker and Nortie learn from the latter's experiments with the rats and the Skinner Box (Chapter 10)?

Does the experiment have any relevance for the Stotans?

6. Walker claims that Nortie "keeps everything in and lets it eat out his insides" (Chapter 6). How do you account for this behavior and...