ENGL 200 D: Reading Literature: Literature in the Marketplace

Does losing memories of what you did such as killing people by getting refreshed make you innocent or how is one suppose to deal with people who have lost their memories of the incident?

In this futuristic world, people can view another person’s Whuffie? Is it an advantage or disadvantage for people to know others’ current Whuffie?

In this system, is it possible to gain whuffie without doing something new or creative? (more on the lines of if Julius fights to keep the Mansion in original state would his whuffie plateau?)

In what ways is Whuffie in the Bitchun Society similar to money today? Is it viewed and used any differently than the way in which we use our currency?

Does the author favor the benefits of the futuristic, new society and technology? Or does he favor the history and memories of how things used to be? (In relation to the Haunted Mansion as well as the society itself)

In cases such as Jules, who chooses not to restore to his backup until he naturally ends his current life, is his backup still him? If our identity is our experiences (given that identical twins are considered separate and unique individuals), and two versions of the same person go through different experiences, can they still be considered the same person?

Should pursuit of status, or in this case Whuffie, take priority over friendships? Is it ever worth it to backstab those closest to you, in exchange for greater power or prestige?

We just read a story about never-ending labor where people can live forever, constantly assessing other people’s Whuffie before deciding to engage with them. Looking through the lens of “The Lady’s Dressing Room”, what kind of value is associated with this society?

In our world money is the equivalent of Whuffie and it can determines a persons value and how much they are respected. When there are economic problems the people who are very wealthy are hardly affected and the people with less drastically feel the pressure. So in this system, is it the same kind of set up? Do the people possessing extreme amounts of Whuffie never have anything to worry about or does an economic downfall affect everyone just as equally?

Why does Julius forgive Dan, even though Dan stole Julius’s girlfriend and murdered him?