Chronicles: Volume One

How did Bob Dylan’s interest in storytelling develop? Explore the tension between having his songs tell stories and refusing to have his music reflect anything about his personal life.

Chronicles describes two moments in time when Dylan was ready to walk away from a career in music. How were these individual crises alike? How were they different? What persuaded Dylan to keep making music?

What made Dylan’s music appealing to the activists of the 1960s? Why did Dylan reject their interpretation of his songs, given their subject matter? Was his refusal to participate in this way hypocritical? Why or why not?

Conduct a close reading of Dylan’s writing style. What rhetorical devices does he use and what effect do they have on the reading experience? Compare his prose with the lyrics of one of the songs he mentions in the memoir. How do they compare and contrast?

Chronicles starts and ends with Dylan signing his first record deal with Columbia Records in 1961. What is the significance of this structure?

Explore the memoir’s depictions of live performance and studio recording. How are these different modes of musical expression similar? How are they different? How does Dylan’s response to each illuminate his personality and character?

How does Dylan’s identity evolve over the course of the text? Which pieces of himself does he reveal to readers and which does he hold back about? What effect does this have on the reliability of him as a narrator?

Describe Dylan’s relationship with the music industry. Does this memoir present a balanced depiction of the benefits and drawbacks of being a highly successful commercial musician? Why or why not?