Questions:
1. What distinguishes Molly from Mattie? How do these characters serve as foils to one another?

2. Why does Jeremy lose his job?

3. Who is Joe Turner, and what impact has he had on Herald’s life?

4. According to Bynum, how can Herald reclaim his identity?

5. What draws Herald and Mattie to each other?

Answers:
1. Molly is a self-reliant woman who travels alone and trusts no one. In contrast, Mattie seeks a stable partner to love, making her appear more dependent and lonely. Molly avoids work, whereas Mattie must work to support herself. They act as foils by highlighting each other's differing traits.

2. Jeremy is dismissed from his road-building job because he refuses to pay a bribe demanded by a white man from all the black workers. This incident, combined with Molly's willingness to leave, prompts Jeremy to decide to move on from the boardinghouse.

3. Joe Turner is a powerful white man who kidnapped Herald, forcing him to work on a chain gang for seven years. This abduction separated Herald from his wife and daughter, leading to the loss of his family and, more significantly, his identity.

4. Bynum advises Herald that he can regain his identity by recalling the inner song he has forgotten. Bynum's own life story illustrates this concept. Herald recognizes Bynum as one of the "bones people," who, despite escaping slavery, has rediscovered his own song and identity.

5. Herald and Mattie are drawn to each other because they share similar experiences. Both have lost loved ones and are in search of companionship. Their mutual loneliness and desire to cease wandering bring them together, as they both aspire to create their own world.