53 pages • 1 hour read
Patrick DewittFrench Exit
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A 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
Analyze Patrick deWitt’s attitudes toward social classes as seen through his representation of different characters and locations throughout the novel. Choose a character to explore in what ways they transcend class barriers.
Discuss deWitt’s use of Mme Reynard throughout the novel. What roles does she play in the novel? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Why did deWitt set the story in Paris? How does setting play a part in French Exit?
Is there any significance to the character names given by deWitt in French Exit? For instance, is it a coincidence that Frances and Frank are similar names? How do they both relate to France? What about the last name Price?
Discuss deWitt’s choice of the specific characters introduced into Joan’s apartment. What purpose does each serve, if any?
Analyze deWitt’s use of Small Frank in the novel. What purposes does Small Frank serve, both in terms of story and meaning?
Both Malcolm and Frances spend time observing the men in the park. How do the men in the park function in the story and play a role in each of their character arcs?
Discuss deWitt’s exploration and subversion of the comedy of manners. How does this novel fulfill the expectations of the genre, and how does it push back against it?
Death, and the afterlife, are present throughout French Exit. Analyze the novel’s exploration of death, paying attention to how supernatural elements function in that exploration.
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