The Secret History

In the first chapter of The Secret History, Julian and his students discuss the philosophical belief that beauty is closely aligned with terror. This connection between beauty and terror reappears in many ways throughout the book. Highlight at least three instances in The Secret History wherein beauty and terror are aligned. Detail how the meaning of this concept changes (or remains constant) from the beginning to the end of the book.

Class is a prevalent theme in The Secret History, and different characters demonstrate conflicting ideas related to class based on their backgrounds, perceptions, aesthetics, and communication habits. Choose at least three prominent examples of ways different characters respond to class-related situations.

Richard reflects that there is a time in “everyone’s life when character is fixed forever” (84). Nevertheless, Richard seems to perceive his own identity as being quite fluid, for he willfully portrays himself as a wealthy, carefree Californian and adapts his style, habits, and tastes to blend in with the wealthy classics students. Compare and contrast Richard’s attempts to create a new identity for himself with the false identities of at least one other student from the classics group. Use specific examples from the text to analyze the ways in which Richard’s masquerade differs from that of his friends.

Is Julian Morrow at least partially responsible for the students’ murders of Bunny and the local farmer? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your argument.

When Richard withdraws from his classes to enroll in Julian’s classics program, his advisor, Georges Laforgue, cautions against limiting his “contact with the rest of the faculty and with the school,” warning, “no teacher is that good” (32). In light of the ways Richard’s academic career shifts from the beginning to the end of The Secret History, do you agree with Laforgue? Why or why not?

When Richard joins the classics program, Julian tells him the following:

The country people who live around me are fascinating because their lives are so closely bound to fate that they really are predestined. But […] I’m afraid my students are never very interesting to me because I always know exactly what they’re going to do (29).

What is the significance of this reflection? How does the theme of predestination develop over the course of the novel?

The classics students in The Secret History are bound in complicated (and often conflicted) ties of friendship. Choose at least at least two moments in which the classics students seem to know one another well, and contrast these moments with at least two instances in which they question how well they know one another. Analyzing these contrasting moments, how would you describe the novel’s ultimate message about friendship?

How do you interpret Henry’s suicide near the end of The Secret History? Is his death a grand gesture in line with his philosophy that “[d]eath is the mother of beauty” (39), or is it simply an act of desperation?