"STARTER KIT" FOR LITERARY DISCUSSION GROUPS (for the Ben Candidi Mystery-Thriller Series, by Dirk Wyle) For Pharmacology Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle Ben Candidi and Geoffrey A. Westley -- personality dynamics in counterpoint What Margaret Westley brought to the story Does the guilt reside in more than one person? The transforming experience of higher education Mentoring Humanizing vs dehumanizing influences of science: Did one or more of the scientists exert a humanizing influence? Was justice served? Was crime fought with crime? Is there a moral to the story? A moral "center of gravity"? The role of Rebecca Levis Can poetry be found in science? For Biotechnology Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle British cultural hegemony in the U.S.A. -- alive and well or a thing of the past? Rosenkrantz, Guildenstern and on-the-job self-training "Capitalist Rats" Barcarole -- how boats give people license to act differently Greed vs greed Must distrust and duplicity always come with the venture capitalist territory? Was justice served and who cares? Miami as a character in the story Dr. Brian Broadmoore as a taskmaster Ben's level of self-awareness For Medical School Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle The love of Nature and the demands of civilization Love for partner vs the need for self-realization Ideal World vs Real World Ben's level of self-awareness Science in religion; religion in science Professor Peter Peterson's legacy Medical school as a center of higher learning Dr. Thomas Stockmann: Enemy of the People Moral choices made by Ben's colleagues Idealists at war with each other Psychological autopsy of Prof. Peter Peterson What was at stake in the story? For Amazon Gold, by Dirk Wyle Jungle exploration — do attitudes change with latitudes? Developed- vs undeveloped nations and their indigenous peoples Theodore "Pops" Harvey: Too good to be true? Michael Malencik: Does that personality come with the territory? Personality dynamics of Ben with Dr. Westley Edith Pratt: What's making her tick? Personality dynamics of Edith Pratt with Sanch Riquez What really happened that night at Captain Walley's? Yanomama culture Who is fighting for what? Psychological makeup of Rebecca Levis, M.D. Psychological makeup of Ben Candidi, Ph.D. For Bahamas West End Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle The Gulf Stream water and the Little Bahama Bank Island landfall Bahamian bureaucracy and American boaters The sociology of the West End Marina. Out-of-the-ordinary or predictable? Does boating or resort living bring out a different kind of personality? Couple dynamics of Ben and Rebecca Bahamians at West End Ben's dealings with the marina neighbors, Dr. Brian Broadmoore and matters arising Sir Hector: What makes him tick? What makes Freeport tick? Sgt. Leonard Townsend Symbolism in the final struggle? Disneyfication of Grand Bahama Island: Economic salvation or cultural ruin? Could they really use a Pirates Hall of Fame? For Yucatán Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle Discuss the various ways in which the Yucatán Peninsula serves as the background for this story: historical, cultural, anthropological and geographical. In what ways does the Peninsula's history affect the present-day cultures existing within it? Is the book essentially a crime story or a story of present-day Mayas confronting modernization? What is Rebecca's quest? What are her methods? What makes her tick? What things are important to Ben? What is his business and how does he go about it? What are his strengths and weaknesses? Discuss the couple dynamics of Ben and Rebecca How many different cultures or areas of endeavor are described in the book as existing in Yucatán? Which are working together and which are in competition? Using information given in the book, what influence does the ancient Mayan way of life exert on present-day Yucatán? Do the Mayas have a sinister or bucolic past? What are the possible models that could define historical Yucatán in the popular imagination of Mexicans? Or of North Americans? What do we learn about Arturo and Esmeralda Zapo? Can more be inferred? Consider and discuss B'alam Chuc. Symbolism in the final struggle? Disneyfication of Grand Bahama Island: Economic salvation or cultural ruin? Could they really use a Pirates Hall of Fame? To Other Discussion Groups Return to Main Page