We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

This book begins in medias res, meaning that it does not start at the chronological beginning of the story. How does this decision, and the narrator’s own acknowledgment of it, impact the story? What are the effects of the interjections from an older Rosemary and flashbacks to a much younger Rosemary?

Reading this book as a feminist text, what does Fowler argue?

Analyze Rosemary Cooke: How did her childhood influence her to become the person who narrates this book? How does her voice as a protagonist influence the story?

Rosemary talks often about the flaws of memory, at times confirming that her memories are incorrect by talking to others and at times acknowledging that her memories seem implausible. Analyze memory as a theme in this novel, perhaps commenting on Rosemary’s resulting unreliable narration.

The connections, similarities, and differences between nonhuman animals and humans are explored in the book. Explore or formulate an argument about these themes.

Make an argument about the theme of communication. Possible things to include are silence versus talking, sign language, and telepathy.

Use the epigraphs to analyze the sections that they precede. Using this analysis, make an argument for why Fowler made this literary choice and if it was effective.

Provide character analyses for Harlow and Rosemary and make an argument as to why the two of them are drawn to each other.