Study Questions

1. What did Dorcas always talk about?

2. Compare and contrast Dorcas and Felice.

3. Dorcas had trouble getting boyfriends. Why?

4. Why did Felice visit Joe and Violet?

5. Felice’s father had some very strong opinions. What were they?

6. Why does Felice admire Violet and Mrs. Manfred?

7. What did Felice mean when she said Dorcas pushed men?

8. Why didn’t Felice go to Dorcas’ funeral?

9. How does Violet describe Dorcas?

10. What comments does Felice make about Joe’s unusual eyes?

Answers

1. Dorcas always talked about how someone looked. She wanted to be involved with a really good looking man.

2. Dorcas and Felice looked totally different. Dorcas was light-skinned, with long hair. Felice was dark-skinned. Dorcas was more bold and assertive than Felice. Felice was allowed to do the normal things for a girl her age. Dorcas’ aunt tried to stop her from growing up. Both girls were raised by older female relatives.

3. Dorcas had trouble getting boyfriends because she wasn’t particularly attractive. Some might say her light skin and long hair would make her pretty, but, it didn’t. The childish way she dressed and wore her hair didn’t help matters. Another problem was when a young man was interested, Dorcas was always trying to push him to do things he didn’t want to.

4. Felice visited Joe and Violet to find out about her ring. She also wanted to tell Joe that Dorcas wasn’t worth crying over.

5. Felice’s father was considered a race man. When he read about lynchings and injustice in the newspaper, he was very angry. He felt that injustice for African-Americans was an everyday occurrence. Her father mentions the discrimination in baseball as a good example of how whites were afraid to compete fairly with African-Americans.

6. Felice admires Violet and Alice Manfred because they worked and were independant. During this period most women married and depended upon their husbands for care and support. Felice wanted to be different.

7. Dorcas pushed men to prove their love for her. They had to save her or fight for her or do something dangerous to make her satisfied. Most men didn’t want to be bothered.

8. Felice didn’t go to the funeral because she was angry at Dorcas for letting herself die. Felice felt that if Dorcas was really her best friend she would have saved herself so that they could be together.

9. Violet describes Dorcas as ugly, inside and out.

10. Joe has unusual eyes; one is blue, the other green. Felice called his eyes “double eyes.” She described them as a sad one so people could see inside of him and a clear one so he could see inside of people.