Published in 1978, Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. is a brutal exploration of the effects of drug addiction and the unattainable American dream on four working-class Brooklynites: Harry Goldfarb; his mother, Sara Goldfarb; Harry’s girlfriend, Marion Kleinmeitz; and Harry’s best friend, Tyrone C. Love. Selby Jr. uses the literary technique of deep perspective to show addiction on a personal level as the protagonists slowly cede control of their lives to their drugs of choice. Along the way, Selby Jr. explores class and race in America, as well as the impacts of the heroin epidemic and the War on Drugs on the lower classes of New York society. Selby Jr. was known for his gritty use of realism to depict the often-shocking aspects of life among the lower classes. His debut book, Last Exit to Brooklyn, a short-story collection published in 1964, was met with great critical acclaim, but also with controversy: A court in London attempted to censor the book. Though he published seven books of fiction between 1964 and his death in 2004, Requiem for a Dream is widely considered his best novel. Requiem for a Dream was adapted into a critically acclaimed film by director Darren Aronofsky in 2000.

This guide follows the Barnes and Noble Nook edition, published by Early Bird Books.

Content Warning: This guide discusses explicit usage of illegal drugs, depictions of drug addiction, depictions of mental illness, depictions of violence (sexual, domestic, racial, and graphic), as well as stereotypes of racial and ethnic minorities. This guide references language from the text concerning race and addiction which may be considered offensive. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

Harry Goldfarb steals his mother’s television to pawn for money to buy heroin. Harry locks his mother, Sara, in the closet, berating her for guilt-tripping him. Harry’s best friend, Tyrone C. Love, helps him wheel the television to the pawn shop. They go back to Tyrone’s apartment and use the heroin they buy. Sara, meanwhile, is still convinced that Harry is a good boy. Sara lives alone and is addicted to eating and watching TV shows; her television and refrigerator are her only companions.

The next day, coming down from the heroin, Harry and Tyrone go to the morgue, where their friend, Angel, works. They party with a group of friends in the morgue, smoking weed and doing more heroin. Harry becomes close with Marion Kleinmeitz, who he has known since childhood. Harry goes home with Marion, and they sleep together.

Sara gets a call from Lyle Russell at the McDick Corporation, telling her she has been invited on a television show—though he does not specify which one. This gives Sara a new lease on life but also unleashes a new obsession for her: She wants to lose weight to fit into her favorite red dress for her television appearance. Sara begins dieting, and when this proves too difficult, she goes to a doctor who prescribes her diet pills.

Meanwhile, Harry and Tyrone hatch a plan to make a lot of money. With Marion’s support, and cash from part-time jobs, they buy a stash of strong heroin from Tyrone’s contact, Brody, and adulterate it with filler substances, becoming small-time drug dealers. For a while, they are met with wild success. Harry and Marion become a couple, and they dream of opening a café. Tyrone starts dating a woman named Alice and is on his way to living his dream of a carefree life. Harry buys an expensive new television for Sara. When he visits her, he is shocked to see she is taking weight loss drugs.

The good times do not last. As winter approaches, the supply of heroin begins to dwindle. Harry, Tyrone, and Marion gradually became dependent on the drug when they had a plentiful stash. Now, their money begins to dwindle, and they suffer the negative effects of their addiction. Sara, meanwhile, suffers from hallucinations and paranoia due to her amphetamine addiction. She has not heard back about her TV appearance, and employees at the McDick Corp. are tired of her calling.

The streets become increasingly dangerous as those with heroin addictions resort to crime. Drug withdrawals cause tension between Harry and Marion. When rumors circulate about a large amount of heroin being ready for distribution, Marion, with Harry’s encouragement, sleeps with her psychiatrist for money.

As Marion’s addiction worsens, she would do anything to prevent withdrawals. She begins sleeping with one of Tyrone’s contacts, Big Tim, for heroin, only sharing part of her stash with Harry. For a time, this sustains the three friends’ addictions. Sara, meanwhile, has a psychological crisis after being prescribed Valium for her amphetamine withdrawals. She is committed to a psychiatric hospital, where she is prescribed shock treatment. The staff treat her cruelly. She is left in a drug-induced catatonia, unable to communicate, and in a mental haze due to the unnecessary shock therapy. A judge commits her to the state “mental ward.”

Harry and Tyrone go to Florida to try to score a large amount of strong heroin to bring back, despite the risks. Marion agrees with their plan. When they are gone, she continues to betray her morals by exchanging sex for heroin. Harry’s arm becomes badly infected due to injecting in the same vein over and over. Somewhere in the South, he and Tyrone stop at a medical clinic, where they are arrested. Harry’s arm is amputated at the shoulder; he nearly dies from the infection. Tyrone, abused by the racist cops and prison guards, is sentenced to work on a chain gang. At night, he dreams of being comforted by his deceased mother.