The Tender Bar

One of Moehringer’s main themes is his desire to provide for his mother, even when he was a child. Using evidence from the text, explain why Moehringer thought he should play the role of provider in his family and how this desire informed his childhood and adulthood.

Moehringer recounts the patriarchal violence in his grandmother’s family history, as well as the psychological abuse his mother endured from both her father and her husband. Discuss the domestic abuse in Moehringer’s family and his mother’s and grandmother’s efforts to ensure that Moehringer discontinued this family pattern.

The author uses particular stylistics and literary devices to capture the tone and feeling of bar banter. Using examples from the text, explain how he creates this effect, and what it tells us about Publicans.

Moehringer paints Manhasset as a town in which the social classes lived side by side. Explain how experiencing poverty while in close proximity with the surrounding middle- and upper-class families affected Moehringer’s worldview.

The Tender Bar is a coming-of-age story. What experiences, both positive and negative, influenced the outcome of Moehringer’s early adulthood?

Moehringer acknowledges at the end of his book that his mother embodied everything that he was convinced a good man should be. How do the stories and memories he includes in this book portray his mother? In what ways is his memoir a tribute to her?

The author explains that Publicans was a positive force in his life and for the Manhasset community as a whole. He also notes, however, that as an adult, he abstains from drinking. How did Moehringer’s experience of—and dependence on—Publicans change over the years? How did this impact his relationship with alcohol?

At the beginning of the book, Moehringer compares his relationship with Publicans to a romantic relationship, and he claims it has affected his following romances. Explain how the author’s relationship with Publicans affected his relationship with his college girlfriend Sidney.