56 pages • 1 hour read
John le CarréTinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1974A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How does Smiley use his own loneliness and boredom—as well as other personal issues—to his advantage in pursuit of the mole? Is he successful?
Prideaux and Smiley are both men who have been betrayed by their lovers. How were they betrayed? How do they manage to deal with betrayal?
To what extent is Alleline a victim of his own ambition? Who else suffers because of Alleline’s desperate need for power?
Connie Sachs misses the Circus. How does her longing for the past reflect the absurdity and unreality of life as an intelligence operative?
How is the fall of the British Empire presented in the novel? How are characters influenced by their country’s waning power?
Tarr is a chaotic presence in the novel. How does his energetic, emotional approach to intelligence contrast with Smiley? What are strengths and weaknesses of both approaches.
Bill Roach views Prideaux as a substitute father figure. How does he come to empathize so strongly with the former spy? How do his emotions play out in his evolving friendship with Prideaux?
Life in the school is a mirror image of life in the Circus. To what extent is all of intelligence gathering simply a game?
The death of Control has a profound effect on the Circus. How does his death symbolize the collapse of the British Empire and the empire of intelligence that is the Circus?
Smiley’s relationship with Ann is very complicated. To what extent does Smiley acknowledge her role as his only weakness? How does he approach this weakness by the end of the novel?
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By John le Carré
