The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen

Graham Greene

Pre-Reading Discussion

• Do you have the experience of looking at something but not seeing it? What might affect people’s seeing power?

• What do you make of the title? In what way can people be invisible?

P1: a long shot

• How did the author describe the Japanese gentlemen? List all the details that he had noticed.

• Do you think a group of Japanese people dining in a British restaurant is likely to arouse much curiosity? How do you interpret the girl’s indifference?

P2: a close shot

• What do you know about the girl from the author’s description?

• What does the incongruity of her appearance and way of speaking tell?

• Can you speculate on the background of the girl?

P3-5: her companion

• How did the author describe the man? Did he give him as much attention as he gave the girl?

• Why did the author revert to the Japanese gentlemen while he was observing the girl and her partner?

• Can you speculate on the background of the man?

P6-25: a rising star and her dumb partner

• Why was the author shocked when he found the girl was of his own profession? What qualities do you think are necessary for a writer? Did the girl have them?

• How well did the couple get along? Did their relationship promise a happy marriage?

• In what way did the new title differ from the previous one? What did this change mean?

P26-27: insight of a hardened writer

• Why was the author pessimistic about the girl’s career? Why did he feel it a humiliating thought?

• What insight did the author provide about the nature of a writer’s profession? What did the girl expect of her career? Why was she approved by her publisher but disapproved by the author?

P28-54: ambition and conceit

• What kind of story do you think will be produced in a popular resort like St. Tropez? Why did the girl choose there as the venue for her next book?

• Who seemed to have the upper hand in the relationship? What do you think would happen to the couple after this date?

P55-57: what a future!

• Why did the author think both of them had made a wrong decision about their profession? What advice would he offer them? Does his advice sound sensible?

• What function did the Japanese gentlemen serve in the whole conversation?

Conclusion

• Power of observation; relativity and selective perception;

• Men and women; apparent harmony and deep incongruity; dominance and submission;

• The profession of a writer; sand and gold;• Euro-centrism;• Cultural differences in the conversational style.