Salvage the Bones

by Jesmyn Ward
Start Free Trial

Salvage the Bones Questions and Answers

When Esch finally confronts Manny and tells him she is pregnant in Salvage the Bones, what is she trying to accomplish? Does she still think that she wants him to love her? 

How does Esch compare herself to China and Medea as mothers in Salvage the Bones? Does she make a connection between motherhood and violence?

Discuss the use of metaphors and similes that Esch uses to describe the storm in chapter 11 of Salvage the Bones.

Describe Esch's attitude about pregnancy in Chapter 3 of Salvage the Bones.

How does Esch describe her love for Manny in Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward?  What does it reveal about her character?

Discuss the dog fight in chapter 8 of Salvage the Bones. What metaphors or similes are used to describe the fight? Why does Skeetah decide to allow China to fight?

In chapter 2 of Salvage the Bones, Esch learns that she is pregnant. Site specific examples within the chapter that foreshadow this event.

How do Skeetah and Manny view Esch in chapter 3 of Salvage the Bones? Do they see her for who she is?

Examine the symbols present in the Ward's Salvage the Bones.

In Salvage the Bones, how does Esch develop her ideas of motherhood? How do these ideas evolve during the course of the novel? What role does the memory of Mama play? China?

In Salvage the Bones, how do violence and tenderness coexist in this troubled setting?

What kind of place is Bois Sauvage in Salvage the Bones?

In Salvage the Bones, why don't Esch, her dad and brother, just pack up and leave before "Katrina" hits?

How would you describe Skeetah in Salvage the Bones?  What are some of his characteristics?

Discuss Bois Sauvage from Salvage the Bones and its deprivations--the poverty, unemployment and housing. How does the area shape the people, especially young people, who live there for better and for worse?

How would you describe the relationship between Esch and China in Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones? Is China viewed as a role model for Esch, and how does this influence Esch's state of mind from the beginning to the end of the story? 

What is the presence of Mama in Jesmyn Ward's novel Salvage the Bones? How does Mama live on in her children's memory, even though she has been dead for seven years?

What is the novel’s connection between the main character, Esch, and the Greek mythological character, Medea?

The characters in Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones are part of the bildungsroman tradition. How does the process of "coming of age" in this novel extend or complicate earlier versions of this narrative? Choose one character from Salvage the Bones to focus on, and compare that character's coming of age to two other characters of the following novels: Othello, Great Expectations or Drown. Are there aspects of coming of age that seem universal, or are there important differences according to context and individual? Along these lines, how do the unique circumstances of the Batiste family present additional challenges or supports to the protagonist? What role do gender, race and economic status play?

Describe Esch's attitude about pregnancy in Chapter 3 of Salvage the Bones?

Salvage the bones Questions Describe the character? I'm kind of lost. What's happening in chapter 1? the dog giving birth? What's the conflict? the dog is having a hard time giving birth? Describe the setting? I don't know their house?

In Salvage the Bones, what do the mythological figures that Esch is interested in suggest about her personality, interests, preoccupations, and hopes?

What are the different significances of each character in Salvage the Bones?

What are some key or evocative details that are shown throughout the novel? What larger question does the novel ask the reader to consider?

Narratives should have a clear moral stance and there should not be room for ambiguity in the view of characters. What is an example/are some examples of incidents or circumstance in Salvage the Bones that calls this kind of storytelling into question?

In "Salvage the Bones" by Jesmyn Ward, why is the tenth day titled as "In the Endless Eye"?

Is China a good mother?