The Smell of Apples

Discuss Marnus as both product and victim of apartheid. Is he to blame for his unquestioning embrace of racism?

Do the interchapters support or distract from the story of Marnus and his father? How do the interchapters reveal the long-term impact of racism? Is the grown-up Marnus heroic for his willingness to die for a country we see as toxic? 

Compare the evolution of Marnus and Ilse. Account for how the same cultural system and the same parents could have shaped two such strikingly different children.