Machine Dreams by Jayne Anne Phillips
“As You Read” Assignment Questions
Complete the web quest on Jayne Anne Phillips and Machine Dreams. Explore the
background of the Vietman War and the social upheavals of the 1960s and
1970s. How was the fabric of American life
changing during these years? How might
the Vietnam War itself have engendered some of the radical changes in personal
and national values? How were
generational differences, problematic during any period of history,
particularly challenging during this period, when baby-boomers and their
parents, sometimes called “the greatest generation” and who had experienced the
horrors of WWII, clashed over national policy.
How were some of these generational differences manifested—on social,
political and personal levels? Pay close
attention to the web quest information
on Jayne Anne Phillips. How much of
this story does she appear to be drawing from her own experiences?
As you read Machine
Dreams, consider whether there are any parallels between debates about the
justness and appropriateness of the Vietnam War, which you have just explored
in the web quest, and the War in
If you have read “Civil Disobedience” in your American
Literature class or in a history or government course, recall the basic premise
that Thoreau is positing in this famous and influential essay. How might Thoreau’s ideas be applied to young
people protesting the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s? Like Jayne Anne Phillips, Thoreau employs a
“machine” image in his famous essay. Explain
the image and how it might apply to Machine
Dreams?
Notice Phillips’ method of narrating her novel—she uses “multiple
points of view.” Who are the narrators
in the book? Why does this narrative method
work particularly well in a book about generational differences and conflicts? The parents of Danner and Billy, Mitch and Jean, have difficulty in
their marital relationship. What in the
background of both might factor into their marital schism? How do their difficulties affect their kids?
Why does Billy join the Army and go off to fight in
a dubious war? How are his letters home
different from his father’s letters during WWII? How does Billy’s decision to join the Army affect Danner? How does Danner feel about the Vietnam
War? How does Mitch feel about the
war? Explain why they might have such
differing views about the same conflict?
Phillips began her
literary career as a poet. How might
this writing experience affect the writing of Machine Dreams? As you read, note the images of machines
in the book. Mark the machine references
as you read the novel. Note the very
poignant reference to the snow plow at the end of the book. Billy says a prayer at dinner and that event sets
off an association in his memory of his and Danner’s watching the snow plow on
a snowy
Early in the book, Jean
thinks about the meaning of the word family:
“. . . family wasn’t just who you were
married to, not here. . . . Family was more than blood relation” (19). This is a book about the importance of family
and the difficulty of family relationships, even those within the greater and
infinitely complex “family” that our nation represents. How
does the theme of family connect with the schism in this country associated
with the
Finally, is it unpatriotic to question one’s
country’s motives for going to war? Is it wise or foolish to be initially skeptical when political leaders attempt to
engender enthusiasm for national involvement in foreign conflicts? On the other hand, are their dangers in
becoming “isolationist” and never seeing a reason to go to war?