Suggested Essay Topics
Part 1
1. Violet was not always crazy. Compare and contrast Violet as a young woman with how she behaves in the beginning of the novel.
2. The New York City setting plays an important role in the novel. Choose two characters and discuss the impact the city has on their lives.
3. Alice Manfred gives Violet a photograph of her niece Dorcas. In your opinion, does placing the photo on the mantlepiece make the situation better or worse?
Part 2
1. Was Joe and Dorcas’ relationship doomed from the start?
2. Joe and Dorcas were able to share some very painful hurts with each other. Discuss the source of pain for each.
3. Describe the differences in the way Joe and Violet react to Dorcas’ everpresent memory.
Part 3
1. Joe’s affair with Dorcas was totally out of character. Describe the kind of man he normally was.
2. The Miller Sisters preached fear and damnation to the children they cared for by using Bible stories. Dorcas, however, always missed the point and read something else into the stories. Explain.
3. Alice Manfred’s approach to childrearing was based on the way she was raised. What are some of the biggest mistakes she made in raising Dorcas?
Part 4
1. In her 40s Violet experiences a mother hunger that contributes to her losing her mind. Explain.
2. Violet tries to sort out her feelings about her father. In your opinion should he be criticized or admired for his approach to life?
3. Violet seems to both fear and admire the other Violet. Explain.
Part 5
1. Discuss Joe’s skills as a woodsman and how he put those skills to work in the city.
2. Joe felt he had good reason to be unfaithful to Violet. Do you agree or disagree?
3. Joe feels that the cause of the tragedy in his life is that he changed one time too many. Do you agree or disagree and why?
Part 6
1. Golden Gray becomes True Belle’s whole life. Why?
2. When Golden Gray notices the wild woman on the road and helps her, the narrator calls him a hypocrite. Explain why and whether you agree or disagree.
3. To be dispossessed for nonpayment of rent meant that your furniture was put out of the house onto the street. This was a great humiliation for any family. Discuss the course of events that made Rose Dear’s eviction worse than the usual humiliation families face in this situation.
Part 7
1. Golden Gray was unsure of his parentage. When he was told the truth about his mother and father, explain how his life was forever changed.
2. Describe the range of emotions Golden Gray felt concerning meeting his father for the first time.
3. In your opinion, why is it so important for Joe to receive acknowledgment from his mother?
Part 8
1. Compare and contrast Joe and Acton’s treatment of Dorcas.
2. When Joe set out to look for Dorcas, he didn’t want to shoot her, he just wanted to talk to her. In your opinion, what went wrong?
3. In your opinion did Dorcas want to die? Why did she just lie there and bleed to death?
Part 9
1. Violet finally manages to get rid of that other Violet and as a result regains her sanity. What lesson does this experience teach her?
2. During this period lynchings, race riots, and beatings by the police were the fear of most African-American households. Some of these same problems persist today. What were the causes of the racial tension, then and now.
3. In this part of the novel Felice becomes a heroine of sorts. Explain.
Part 10
1. In your opinion, is the narrator male or female? Support your answer with examples from the novel.
2. Joe and Violet beat all the odds and stayed together. How do you think they managed to save the relationship?
3. The novel goes full circle when it ends with Violet caring for a new bird. Exactly how important is a pet to Joe and Violet’s relationship?
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.