Structure
In the novel Isherwood derives meaning and emotion from those around him. Just as his life is characterized by his friends, the novel's four sections are titled after influential people. Beginning with young adulthood, Mr. Lancaster introduces Christopher to the mystery of Berlin and the danger of asceticism. Ambrose inadvertently warns Christopher of isolationism and Waldemar embodies the surreality of heterosexual marriage. Finally, Isherwood encounters a famous male prostitute named Paul. The two men resolve to explore a regimented spiritual lifestyle centered around self-denial and meditation.
Read more about this topic: Down There On A Visit
Famous quotes containing the word structure:
“The structure was designed by an old sea captain who believed that the world would end in a flood. He built a home in the traditional shape of the Ark, inverted, with the roof forming the hull of the proposed vessel. The builder expected that the deluge would cause the house to topple and then reverse itself, floating away on its roof until it should land on some new Ararat.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“In the extent and proper structure of the Union, therefore, we behold a republican remedy for the diseases most incident to republican government.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“A structure becomes architectural, and not sculptural, when its elements no longer have their justification in nature.”
—Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)