The Flamethrowers

Names are often withheld throughout the novel. What does this imply about the powerful binding of names? Analyze Kushner’s choice to withhold the names of her characters.

Analyze how the concept of speed is explored as a metaphor throughout the novel. Who craves speed and for what purpose? How does speed enable these characters to see the world differently?

Reno experiences history in the making when she goes to Italy with Sandro and bears witness to the labor strikes. Conduct research into the dynamics of Italy in the 1960s and 1970s, then write a socio-historical analysis of The Flamethrowers. How does this micro-history of Italy influence the themes of Kushner’s novel?

The characters in The Flamethrowers make much of the differences they perceive between men and women. How does Kushner explore and promote the idea of feminism throughout the novel? Be sure to consider her use of Reno as narrator, her secondary and marginal male characters, and the impact of society on the psyche.

Kushner explores three different life philosophies by exploring the perspectives of Reno, Ronnie, and Sandro. Reno “shops for experiences” yet craves amazing moments that happen naturally. Ronnie believes that the only way to survive is by embracing irony and dissimulation. Sandro believes that other people need to be categorized into good or bad, because it is only one’s own self that should be explored in the grey. Which life philosophy do you agree with and why?

The first part of the novel deals heavily with Reno’s ambitions to be an artist, but by the end of the novel she seems to have forgotten about her artist self. Analyze the arc of Reno’s character development, specifically in terms of her ambitions. Why does Reno neglect her art? What is Kushner trying to show her reader about the relationship between art and ambition?

Analyze the relationship between Sandro and Reno through Sandro’s point of view. Use textual evidence from Chapter 19 to decide if Sandro is or is not the antagonist in Reno’s life.

Kushner explores cities as characters unto themselves. Select either New York City or Rome and analyze the ways in which Kushner characterizes and personifies cities.