A Simple Plan â€� Reader Q&A

Questions About A Simple Plan

by Scott Smith

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about A Simple Plan, please sign up.

Answered Questions (11)

Did you at anytime feel that you would have taken a different way from what Hank did? If yes, then when was it?

awesomatik.de Well, yes! For starters I would never kill anyone except in self-defense (or by accident)! Certainly not for money. But that would make a pretty borinâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðWell, yes! For starters I would never kill anyone except in self-defense (or by accident)! Certainly not for money. But that would make a pretty boring book, I guess...(less)

flag

What is your opinion about Hank, the main character? Could you relate to him? If yes, what do you think makes him someone you can relate to?

Anthony Mitchell

This answer contains spoilersâ€� (view spoiler)[Hank is kind of like the every man in this situation, at first. He's not even in favor of keeping the money, which most hard working, tax paying folks would agree with. He has a decent job, a wife and a daughter on the way. He really has no great reason for absolutely needing the money. Unfortunately his out of work brother and his also unemployed friend see an easy goldmine after lives of drunken sloth. So they manage to sway him, although I'd have to say that I wouldn't have any part of that and would turn it in. It's really the only rational thing to do. Easy money always comes with a high price in my opinion.

On the other hand, there is part of all of us that longs to keep the money and beyond that, to keep our own selves out of jail. Hank rationalizes keeping it since the grain store does not pay that well, he has a family on the way, etc. but he is still very careful about keeping it. He is smart but he's becoming more and more corrupt as the story progresses. When Jacob hits the Dwight guy and thinks he's killed him, Hank is trying to save Jacob from going to jail, but he is also trying to save himself and the money. Then when he finishes Dwight off, we know he is now willing to do a lot to keep the secret and eventually, we see how murderous he's willing to be just to protect the secret.

For me, in the end, he is relatable because he is not only smart, but he's doing something that we all want to do- find a pot of gold. I can't say I haven't thought of different ways to funnel the money and keep it, say like taking a trip to Switzerland to wash it. I think there are ways they could have done this. Of course, this is me wanting them to get away with it and it's two fold. For one, Hank didn't want to keep it at first. He was goaded. And next now that he's gone through this total hell, why NOT keep it? His friends and his own brother are gone forever. He's paid a hell of a lot. It only makes sense that he keep it now. This is what draws the reader in along with the morbid spectacle, like watching a very slow car wreck unfold and grow worse and worse over the course of the book. (hide spoiler)]

flag

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Huck Flynn Leah is spot on - they reckon if the authorities find a reasonable amount of money in the plane they will think that's all there is - why would someboâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðLeah is spot on - they reckon if the authorities find a reasonable amount of money in the plane they will think that's all there is - why would somebody leave any money behind? It's a semi-smart bluff unless the guys who find the plane know how much was in it. It shows the desperate calculating behaviour adopted by Hank - and how the simple plans change him as a person(less)

flag

Why couldn't they launder the money in Mexico or Canada? It was frustrating how it was never even brought up.

Huck Flynn It wouldn't have been the same book then. The fact that you are even asking the question shows how much you have engaged with the situation and are frâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðIt wouldn't have been the same book then. The fact that you are even asking the question shows how much you have engaged with the situation and are frustrated. They could have laundered money if they knew how but these characters live in the backwoods - they're nor sophisticated heist criminals or investment bankers :-)(less)

flag

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Huck Flynn She's not quite a Lady Macbeth character but she is complicit in the plan to keep the money and part of Hank's motive - to have enough money for a secâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðShe's not quite a Lady Macbeth character but she is complicit in the plan to keep the money and part of Hank's motive - to have enough money for a secure family life. He perhaps feels desperate to be the provider in the household but is currently treading water in a dead end job. The reader instinctively feels that Hank is a decent, ordinary guy. She kind of endorses the act of keeping the money and helps start off a situation that spirals out of their control prompting him to do shocking things. The success of the book is that we are still rooting for him to the end.(less)

flag

Load 5 more questions

Unanswered Questions (1)

Answer

Flag

About Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions