A meta novel is a novel that is aware of it being a novel. The second part of Don Quijote, for example, is a meta novel, and so is Breakfast of Champions. In BOC the author makes an appearance in the narration, which he is narrating. To make things creepier but more relatable, if you found the novel of your life and started reading it, you would eventually come to the part where you find the novel of your life and start reading.

Write an essay (three-page minimum, double spaced, Times New Roman 12pt), touching on the following point:

1. What other work of art (movie, book, series) do you know of that breaks the fourth wall, i.e., addresses the audience? How does it compare to BOC?

2. This novel was written WAY before any video games were popular, and yet Wayne Hoover acts exactly as if he were a playable character in an open sandbox game. Why do you think people act on their moral liberation by going on a rampage? Is it because there are no consequences? Or is it because, if those who surround you are not really human, you have no obligation to behave?

3. How do words, actions, and characters connect in the novel?

4. What examples of the butterfly effect can you find in the novel?

5. Hoover and Trout are both pathetic characters. In what other ways are they similar?

6. Discuss Trout’s final wish to his creator.