Guert realizes that his mistrust of David contains an element of hypocrisy. How does the age-gap relationship of Pella and David compare to that of Owen and Guert? To what extent do Pella and Guert acknowledge or play on these comparisons? Include textual evidence.

In an act of rebellion when she was 14, Pella got the same tattoo as her father, a sperm whale that symbolizes Moby Dick. What does this tattoo—and the fact that she rebelled by getting the same tattoo as her father—symbolize about their relationship?

Schwartz refers to his beard as his thesis beard, viewing it as an essential symbol of hard work. Pella despises beards because her husband, David, has one but acknowledges that as a high school student, she found his beard an erotic symbol of his maturity. How does Schwartz and Pella’s relationship rewrite the symbolism of beards and offer a new understanding of beards’ reckoning with masculinity?