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Tropic of Cancer Study Guide

by Henry Miller

Tropic of Cancer study guide contains a biography of Henry Miller, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

When the novel opens, Miller is living at the Villa Borghese with his friend Boris. It is the fall of his second year in Paris. Miller introduces his book by writing: "This is not a book. This is libel, slander, defamation of character.” He calls the novel a “song” and writes: “It is to you, Tania, that I am singing.” (Tania is a Jewish woman who carries on an affair with Miller while living with her playwright beau, Sylvester.)

In quick succession we meet or learn of some of Miller’s friends and companions in Paris: Borowski, the Cronstandts, Moldorf, and Lucille. Most of the gang lives in Montparnasse, where many of the American expatriates in Paris make their home.

Miller declares that the only thing that currently interests him in any…

Read the full Tropic of Cancer Summary

• Tropic of Cancer Summary
• About Tropic of Cancer
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of Section I: To “She was a whore all the way through – and that was her virtue!”
• Summary and Analysis of Section II: “Easter came in like a frozen hare” to “I go forth to fatten myself.”
• Summary and Analysis of Section III: “At one-thirty I called on Van Norden” to “Il ne faut jamais desesperer.”
• Summary and Analysis of Section IV: “Which is what I try to din into Carl and Van Norden every night” to “let it slowly infiltrate your veins.”
• Summary and Analysis of Section V: “A few weeks later, upon receipt of a pressing invitation from Collins” to “So you see why once in a while I must let myself be sucked by a Lesbian…”
• Summary and Analysis of Section VI: “When the cold weather set in the princess disappeared” to “the green marsh water alive with croaking frogs.”
• Summary and Analysis of Section VII: From “The fog and snow, the cold latitude, the heavy learning”
• Paris in the Thirties
• Related Links on Tropic of Cancer
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Tropic of Cancer: Major Themes
• Tropic of Cancer: Questions
• Tropic of Cancer: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Henry Miller: Biography