How would you describe Stein and Toklas’s attitude toward being Americans in Paris? How does this differ from that of the Lost Generation?

Is The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas essentially the autobiography of Gertrude Stein? Give reasons from the text for your answer.

What devices does Stein use to convey Toklas’s character? Using the text as evidence, what kind of person do you imagine Toklas was?

What was the role of an artist’s wife? To what extent did Toklas fulfill that role?

Do a close reading of two passages from the text. What literary devices does Stein use to make the reader feel close to her subject or to represent the processes of thought or memory?

What was Stein’s theory about Cubism? With close reference to the text, state why she thought it was an important movement for Modern art.

What does the text reveal about Stein and Toklas’s relationship? What aspects of their life together are missing from the text, and why do you think this is?

How is the theme of collaboration present in the artistic world of the text? How did collaboration facilitate Modernism’s radical aims?

Compare and contrast Stein’s relationships with two of the artists mentioned in The Autobiography. Why do you think her relationships with artists went through periods of intimacy and distance?