The Complexity of the Human Condition

The characters in this novel are flawed, and at various times appear either noble, sympathetic, or antagonistic. This novel demonstrates the complexity of the human condition, encouraging us to accept that nobody is perfect.

Cliff is characterized as a privileged white man. He is implicitly racist and sexist at times, treats others as objects, and repeatedly uses them for his success. He is also portrayed as whiney and lazy, and his literary aspirations appear to be more talk than action. However, he has moments of kindness and of sympathy, and his estranged familial relationships humanize him and cast him in a more sympathetic light. His literary ambitions are tied up in his attempts to gain his father’s approval, time and time again. He is humbled several times by his failures as a writer and his inability to connect with his...