I Love Money
1) What are your initial impressions of Lawrence Garfield? Does
this opening scene prepare you to like or to dislike him?
New England Wire and Cable
1) Why is Garfield interested in buying New England Wire and
Cable? What does he intend to do with his company?
2) Why does Jorgy resist Garfield?'s offer? Is he unable to understand
how Garfield plans to earn a profit for the company's stockholders?
3) In what ways does this scene present a contrast between Garfield
and Jorgy? With whom do you most sympathize?
4) How does Garfield's obsession with donuts affect your view
of him?
Kate Sullivan
1) Who is Kate Sullivan?
2) What is Kate's plan for saving Jorgy's company from Garfield's
takeover?
3) How does she persuade Garfield to compromise on the timing?
And then what?
1) Why is Kate angry with Garfield?
2) Why does Kate object to Garfield's calling this a game? When
Garfield explains that the objective is to "make as much
as you can for as long as you can," Kate asks, "and
then what"? Is it a good question?
3) Garfield suggests he is doing the American thing, being a
good citizen of a capitalist economy, is he?
4) Garfield also connects his behavior with Darwin's law of survival
of the fittest? Is that an American or capitalist idea? Why or
why not?
5) What is Kate's response to Garfield, "the fattest"
who "is happening"? Is she right there should be a change
in the laws in order to deal with his kind, or, alternatively,
is Garfield right that the rules don't matter, that he can adapt?
Love and Money
1) What do we learn about Garfield when he tells Kate about Gloria
Taylor, the quarterback's girlfriend?
2) Why does Garfield consider "greenmail" immoral?
3) Garfield compares himself to Robin Hood-why?
4) Does Garfield respect Kate? Explain your answer.
Certain death
1) What does Kate think Jorgy should do? Why doesn't he follow
her advice?
2) Consider Jorgy's response to Gus, and to Bill. Does he do
the right thing by them? Why or why not?
3) What does Jorgy mean when he says he won't plan the funeral
until someone is dead. Does this make good business sense? Good
moral sense?
Marry Me?
1) Why does Garfield ask Kate to marry him?
2) What is Kate's reaction to Garfield's proposal? Why does she
react the way she does?
Before the vote
1) What do you make of Bea's response to Jorgy? Is her advice
good? What's the source of her pride?
2) What does Jorgy's esteem for Truman say about him?
3) Jorgy asks, "what ever happened to people serving each
other"? Does Jorgy's position really serve people? Explain.
We care about people
1) Consider Jorgy's speech to the stockholders. What his argument?
2) How does Jorgy suggest Garfield differs from the robber barons
of old? Does the distinction matter?
3) Is the country's future in jeopardy if the stockholders vote
to sell, as Jorgy suggests, that is, is the harsh nature of the
profit motive debilitating to moral order?
4) Is Jorgy persuasive? After hearing this speech, how would
you vote?
I'm your only friend
1) What is the argument Garfield offers in reply to Jorgy?
2) After hearing Garfield, how would you vote and why?
3) Explain how Garfield picks up on Jorgy's imagery in his speech.
Is his an effective response to Jorgy's argument, why or why not?
It's money that I love
1) Why does Garfield seem unhappy, after his victory? Does he
really love money?
2) What does Kate's creativity suggest about her? How does she
differ from Garfield?
3) How does Garfield respond to Kate's proposal? Why?
PAPER TOPICS
1) How would Locke and Smith react to Other People's Money?
2) What does Other People's Money teach us about liberal,
capitalist society and its critics? Answer with reference to at
least three of our authors.
3) Does Kate show that Marx's material determinism, his insistence
that capital and resources determine history, is flawed? That
is, in what ways does Kate reflect the persistence of freedom,
ingenuity and industriousness in capitalist society? In what ways
is she a prisoner of the system?
4) Consider Jorgy's character. Which of our authors would best
defend his position? How would he do so?
5) Consider Other People's Money and Smith. Pay particular
attention to the speehes given by Jorgy and Garfield. In what
ways wouls Smith agree or disagree with each of these men?
