THE ART OF CONFIDENCE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What are the reasons Liu decides to forge Elegy, even if he suspects he’s committing a crime? How has his life in America not turned out the way he expected it to be?
  2. In what ways does Caroline take on aspects of her aunt Hazel’s life? What has been lacking in her own life that makes her want to emulate Hazel?
  3. Why does Molly help her roommate, Kimi, in breaching school policy? How much is she responsible for Kimi’s actions?
  4. How has Harold’s life been determined for him by his family upbringing and the culture in which he lives? Has he been able to make any decisions for himself?
  5. Molly turns down a group art show because she doesn’t feel like she’s ready. Do you think she made the right decision? What would you have done in her place?
  6. Why does Harold decide to keep the painting, even though he knows it’s a fake? What meaning does it have for him?
  7. Do you find Caroline a sympathetic character? Do you feel she deserves to lose her aunt’s gallery, or for her forgery scheme to be exposed? Why or why not?
  8. Why is Liu obsessed with painting a certain mountain from his memory? What does he learn about life from his wife’s fate?
  9. Hazel asks Andrew to give her Elegy because she feels he owes it to her. Does a work of art ever belong in part to the person who inspired it? Or does it solely belong to the creator?
  10. What and who determines the worth of art? Why do you think people are willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for one painting? If you could afford it, is there a painting you would be willing to pay millions of dollars for? Which one, and why?