Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Study Questions
Explain the significance of the book's title, Dicey's Song.
Briefly explain Dicey's and James's personas in school and their reasons for assuming these personas. What do the two children's personas have in common?
Why does Gram prevent the children from going into the attic until the very end of the novel? Does this contradict her advice to Dicey to reach out? If so, how? If not, why do you think so?
Suggested Essay Topics
Is Dicey a believable thirteen-year-old girl? Why or why not?
In Chapter 10, Dicey states that she is glad Momma waited so long before dying. How would the book have been different if Momma had died in late September rather than in December?
Why do Mina and Dicey become friends? Be sure to include ways in which both Mina and Dicey build the relationship.
Why does Sammy refuse to tell his family why he is fighting? What does this tell us about his character?
What is the primary conflict in the novel? Why do you think it is the primary conflict? How is this conflict resolved?
