To answer questions about
Straight Man,
please sign up.
Peggy
I agree and recognized all along the meaning of the title (comic foil), but I recently got a reaction from a new acquaintance wondering if it referred to the opposite of a gay man! Just a point to add to the humor Russo indulges in.
Hans
"It's hard to be the straight man in the English deparment" he says because everyone is smart, clever, and cutting.
Peter
The straight man sets up the guy who delivers the punch line. Russo's protagonist plays the straight man to his colleagues at times, but at times he's the one delivering the punch line. More than that he doesn't take himself overly seriously which is the flaw of the other members of the faculty and is the professors' disease. Do you know any who doesn't think she or he is a genius?
James
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more