- In what ways does this novel differ from the classic version
of Robinson Crusoe, as you know it?
- What is Cruso’s attitude toward his predicament?
Why does he resist Susan’s attempt to get him to tell his story?
- Discuss the significance of the terraces.
- Explain this business with Susan’s "daughter."
What’s going on here?
- Why does Susan attempt to put Friday on a ship? Is she
successful? Why/why not?
- Explain the following: "In every story there is a
silence" (141).
- What does Susan try to teach Friday at the end of Part
Three?
Is she successful?
- Discuss Friday’s petals, his drawings, his music playing,
and his dance.
- What the heck is going on in Part Four? Who is narrating
here?
"This is a place where bodies are their own signs." Explain.
- Discuss the progression of the relationship between Susan
and Foe.
How does Susan’s view of him change; how does her view of herself as
a writer develop, and how does her overall aesthetics change? Contrast this
with Foe’s aesthetics.
- Assess Susan’s relationship with Friday. What does
he represent for her at different points in the story?
- How are the four parts of the novel different in terms
of their narrative modes?
Why is this significant?
- Discuss the nature of the sexual relationships and themes
in the novel.
- Provide a reading of Rich’s "Diving into the
Wreck." Why do you think Coetzee uses it as the intertext for the ending
of his novel?
- In what ways does this novel force you to reflect upon
the nature of reading, writing, and interpretation?
- Many critics have seen this text as an archetypal postmodern
novel.
If this is so, based on your reading of Foe, how would you characterize
postmodern narrative?
- Consider this novel in relation to Coetzee’s position
as a white, male South African author.
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