29 pages • 58 minutes read
Delmore SchwartzIn Dreams Begin Responsibilities
Delmore SchwartzFiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1938A 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
The central story is presented as a dream, and the dream itself takes the form of a movie the narrator is watching. What are the effects of this frame-within-a-frame structure? What do these layers of unreality convey about the narrator’s understanding of his parents, himself, and the tension between Destiny and Agency? Support your reasoning with examples.
The story draws on the details of Schwartz’s life; for example, his mother was named Rose and his parents’ marriage was troubled. How does this autobiographical context affect the story’s meaning?
In the dream, what does the narrator’s forced passivity suggest about his real-life familial role?
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