91 pages • 3 hours read
Elena FerranteMy Brilliant Friend
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
How do Elena and Lila attempt to escape the circumstances of their birth? Discuss the similarities and differences between the two girls’approaches.
How does the theme of competition feature in My Brilliant Friend?
What role do the folkloric and supernatural play in Ferrante’s text?
Explore Ferrante’s treatment of social status. Does she show it to be a fixed phenomenon or something more mutable?
How much importance does Ferrante place on the relationship between parents and children?
What role do education and learning play in Ferrante’s novel?
How does Ferrante create the world of her novel? In your answer, select examples from both Elena’s and Lila’s perspective of the neighborhood and beyond.
Discuss Ferrante’s depiction of masculinity. Do her male characters share predominant characteristics, or do their personalities and inclinations vary?
What is the role of writing and expression in Ferrante’s novel? How does Elena evolve as a reader and storyteller?
Discuss how Ferrante makes use of the human body and corporeal imagery in her novel. Why are bodies so significant to her storytelling?
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