Discussion Questions for “The Deportees” and “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner”
Directions: Originally I said to choose TWO of the questions below from the “homework
questions” category and type up your answers (not the questions). Now, though, I’ve decided we
will just discuss—no writing for you (except notes to yourself, if you want) and no grading (for
me).
Questions for “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner”
1. In the recent Irish film The Guard, an Irish cop, when challenged by a black American
FBI agent for saying something racist, says (with wide-eyed innocence), “But I’m Irish:
racism is part of my culture!” In “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner,” Roddy Doyle
seems to be taking on the question of whether that generalization is valid. What do you
think of Larry’s racial attitudes? Is it enough that he can recognize merit (or lack of
merit) in people regardless of their race (as he claims in the long catalog of white and
black musicians, politicians, athletes, etc.), or does he have reason to feel guilty about his
racism? Consider what he says and does as well as what he thinks. Is there anyone else in
the story you’d say is racist? Does Irish society, as it’s presented in the story, seem any
more or less racist to you than American society?
2. What are the steps in this story that lead Larry and Ben from fear, suspicion, hostility,
and anger to mutual respect, empathy, and trust? Did the process seem plausible in this
case? Are there any suggestions in the story for how this process could happen at the
society-wide level?
3. As a positive depiction of the new multicultural Ireland—all harmony and great craic
(fun), is this story persuasive? Are there enough notes of disharmony, such as the racist
phone calls, the one band member’s objection to the Traveler, the “no Irish need apply”
historical echo of past discrimination?
4. Roddy Doyle’s first story with Jimmy Rabbitte as a protagonist was the novel-turned
movie The Commitments. If you were to turn this second Rabbitte story into a film, what
would you do with it? For example, how much of the plot summary at the end would you
use? How much would you show, and how much might you do in voice-over? Would you
change the plot at all? Would you add backstory to any of the characters? Explain your
choices.
5. Why might the women in the story be more open to liking Ben than the Larrys (father
and son)? Why might Mona (the mom/wife) feel a particular connection with Ben?
6. How are race and nationality related in this story? How might the family’s attitude
toward Ben be different if he were an African-American, or a Jamaican, or a Frenchman?
7. If you know the film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, how is this story related to it? How
is it different?
8. What is the significance of Ben’s “gorgeous smell”?
9. Compare Ben’s experience to others we’ve seen/read about: Binh’s, the Phelans’ (from
the Hanging Gale). Do you think Ben will be a successful immigrant if he decides to stay
in Ireland? Why or why not?
10. Why do you think Larry fears he wouldn’t be welcome in an African shop selling Ben’s
cologne? What does that add to the picture of Larry’s feelings about Dublin’s increasing
diversity?
Questions for “The Deportees”
1. How is Jimmy’s family life related to his professional life? Why is it such a big part of
the story? [Note: in the first Jimmy Rabbitte story (a novel and then film, The
Commitments, his family consisted of his parents and his siblings. In the last Rabbitte
story (a novel), The Guts, it is mostly his wife and kids again.]
2. What do you make of Fat Gandhi? Is he a “real” Indian living in Ireland, or just a regular
native-born Irishman exploiting a new multicultural trend? How can you tell?
3. What do you make of Fat Gandhi’s surprising crush, and the way it is resolved in the
story? What (if anything) does this have to do with the theme of the new multicultural
Ireland?
4. Comment on the music the band plays. Which of them (if any) do you know? Does the
story give you enough information about the songs to let you imagine what they would
sound like? If not, what might be added to the story to help with that?
5. If you were to adapt this for a screenplay, what would you do with it and why?
Note: While we’re walking around Dublin, note all of the signs that even in post-“Tiger”
Dublin, there is still a significant diversity in evidence, both in the businesses and the people
you see.