-According to the narrator, Charles Yates is a toff’s
name. What do you know about names? Did you find anything curious about your
name? Do you have prejudices about names? How did you choose your children’s
name? Would you like to change your name? Do you celebrate your name’s day?
-What do you know about these places: Wapping,
Blackheath…? In the story, they mention “cross the river”. What is the meaning
of this phrase for the Londoners? They say it’s a “good move”.
-They play nine holes: Do you play any sport? Do you
think that a sport defines the character of a person, that is, according to
one’s personality there is a different sport for them?
-There was a time when everybody wore a chain round
their neck, and now we consider it out of fashion. How does fashion change our
minds?
-There are three generations of jobs in the story:
docker, window cleaner (self-employed), liberal profession. What is it
different between our jobs and our parents’ jobs? And what about next generation?
-What do you think about boxing? Do you think it
should be banned, or banned in the Olympic Games, at least?
-Describe Charles Yates (appearance and personality)
-Describe Don’s character.
-Talk about Charles’s jobs.
-In the story, they say he can climb like a monkey. Do
you have vertigo? What do you know about people who don’t feel vertigo?
-They mention something about “smiling differently”.
What can be its meaning? Sometimes you cry when you are very happy. Is it
possible to laugh when you are very sad?
-What is the double meaning of the title?
-At the end of the story, there’s a mysterious phrase:
“whole fucking world”. What is the meaning of this in relation with the story?
What is for you the final idea of the story?
VOCABULARY
toff, crisp bright, heath, brow, nine holes, sloppy, docker,
chunky, nipper, bantamweight, oil rig, roofer, steeplejack, girders, giddiness,
birdman, clincher, sprees, cuddling up, stashed, twigged, hunch, wheeler-dealer,
muck about, contraptions, gentry, take your pick, barrow boys, whoosh, ref, cumbersome,
lumbering, easy-peasy, tingle