Week of November 28th--Native Son!

1. Compare and contrast Bigger's attitude toward the world around him and Mrs. Thomas'.

2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both profess to be friendly towards African Americans, yet they are hostile to each other. Compare and contrast their attitudes towards African Americans and explain their mutual hostility?

3. How is really fear to blame for the muder of Mary (this is a comprehensive question, be thoughtful and think of all aspects of fear that lead to the murder of Mary)?

Week of November 28th--Grapes of Wrath!

1. Explain the three-fold symbolism of giving the name Muley Graves to the dispossessed farmers.

2. Discuss what the family council meeting, before they set out, tells about the way of life and culture of the Joads.

3. What are clear examples of community for the nomadic Joads? And ruminate on the importance of community for these dispossessed farmers?

Week of November 14th--Native Son!

1. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to the Thomas family. Describe this family and the conditions in which they live? Be descriptive and use concrete details!

2, The title of Book One is Fear, how is this title symbolic and prophetic at the same time? What was Wright's intention with this title?

3. What initial event happens in the beginning of the novel that is clearly a foreshadowing of events to come?

4. How does Bigger feel about his home and its surroundings?

5. Who are Bigger's friends and what event takes place that creates a level of aggression with these friends?

6. Who are the Dalton's, and where and how do they live?

Week of November 14th--Grapes of Wrath!

1. How does the land turtle, that Tom Joad wraps up tight in his shirt, foreshadow events in the story?

2. What is corrupt and morally questionable about the bankers' agents that foreclosed on mortgages and drove farmers off of their land?

3. What happens to Tom Joad when he attempts to return home after 4 years in prison? Who does he meet along the way and what happens? Be specific and use concrete details!

4. Why does Tom Joad become so agitated with the truck driver that gives him a free ride? Make sure you are analyzing and using concrete details!

Week of November7th--Grapes of Wrath!

1.       Discuss the contextual importance of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in analyzing the significance of the Joads and their transient nature.

2.       What is at the heart of the plight of the Joads?

3.       Define what it means to be a composite character? How are the Joads actually a singular composite character; almost as if their characters are not fully developed unless in relation to each other.

Week of November 7th--Native Son!

1.       In the introduction, written by the author Richard Wright, Wright discusses at length the making of his protagonist, Bigger Thomas; he reflects on his childhood all the way up to his adulthood, and outlines specific examples of when he met a Bigger and the informing aspect of each incident. Please discuss the many Biggers that Wright experienced in the course of his life, and what did they ALL have in common. Please use concrete details to support your analysis.

2.       Analyze the following quote from the introduction to Native Son, written by Richard Wright:

From these items I drew my first political conclusions about Bigger: I felt that Bigger, an American product, a native son of this land, carried within him the potentialities of either Communism or Fascism. I don’t mean to say that the Negro boy I depicted in Native Son is either a Communist or a Fascist. He is not either. But he is product of a dislocated society; he is a dispossessed or disinherited man; he is all of this, and he lives amid the greatest possible plenty on earth and he is looking and feeling for a way out.

3.       What is at the heart of Bigger’s fears?