49 pages • 1 hour read
Agustina BazterricaTender Is the Flesh
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Between Part 1 and Part 2, there is a gap of several months. Why might Bazterrica have chosen to structure the novel this way? How does the gap affect the reader’s experience?
Tender Is the Flesh features several minor characters who enrich the novel’s themes despite only appearing in one or two scenes; many are Tejo’s business associates. Select two such characters, then compare and contrast them. What role does each play in the narrative, and what does your comparison reveal about each of them?
Research the processes used by modern meat plants. How closely do they resemble the processes described at Krieg?
Identify a figure of speech, such as a metaphor or a simile, employed by Bazterrica, then analyze its function in the text: What role does it play in the larger narrative?
Over the course of the novel, Tejo grapples with the death of two of his loved ones: his father and his son. Compare and contrast his responses to these deaths. How does his process of grieving change over time, and what does that reveal about his character?
Of the many horrors he witnesses or participates in, Tejo is particularly disturbed by Dr. Valka’s laboratory. What makes it his least favorite place to visit?
Marisa mentions her attempts to entertain her children with a robot dog, as well as other digital pets. What does the novel imply about such pets, particularly as they compare to real animals?
Tejo justifies his attack on Jasmine with the phrase, “She had the human look of a domesticated animal” (209). What do you think he means by this, and why does he consider this reason to kill her?
What does Tejo hope to gain by repeatedly visiting the zoo? Does he find what he is looking for as a result of these visits?
Analyze the creed of the Church of the Immolation, as recited by Gastón Schafe in Part 2, Chapter 2. Given the events leading up to and following the Transition, what might make the church’s message so appealing to some people?
