Roman 1

Gabriel Roman
Jennifer Rodrick
QS 115
November 3, 2017

Exercise 2

The scene that I will be summarizing and analyzing from A Single Man by Christopher

Ishwood is one in which George is addressing his class. The scene begins with George reciting a

passage from the reading that he assigned his class. Meanwhile he is reading George observes his

class. He notices that few students seem confused when he mentions the reading. George

mentions that one of his students is in complete dismay, meanwhile another student seems

confused as if she did not know a reading was supposed to be completed. Georges reaction to

his class not knowing of the reading results in what George describes as getting nasty with his

class. George realizes that he is about to get nasty, George describes getting nasty as a feeling

that he cannot control, he does not know when that side of him is going to come out. George

refuses to make eye contact with any of his students meanwhile he subtly shows disdain for them

not reading the book. He asks the students a question they cannot answer due to them not reading

the book. Rather than continuing to show his class his nasty side again George turns the

question into a lecture.

The lecture is the second part of the scene. With the lecture George begins by beginning

to slightly chastise his class for not knowing the answer to his question. George begins a lecture

in which his class seems to have no regard for, but George has a story that seems to slowly but

surely garnish the attention of the students in the class. Soon after George adds a story into his

lecture he seemingly captures the attention of the students in his class and he is able to gain their

interest. The scene ends with George assigning his class to come up with a meaning for his

original question.
 Roman 2

My analysis for this scene begins with looking at the treatment that George receives from

his students. George seems to have students that are not interested in his class because no one did

the lecture, this calls the respect that the students have for George into question. George looking

around the classroom and realizing that his students arent listening to him and him showing

concern for those students to me shows weakness. George seems weak because he seems

desperate for his students attention, and he seems to give power to them. George also seems to

have some issues within him, he is not able to control his nasty side and even explains that he

does not know when it will come out and that he cant control what it does to him. George once

again seems frail when he is unable to maintain eye contact with his students after he gets nasty

with them. His need to please his students with an interesting lecture adds to the analyzation that

he is weak because it seems as a lifeline in order to appear likeable to his students.