Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Study Questions
The novel opens with a description of the editor who located Miss Jane Pittman and recorded her story. Is this account true or fiction? Discuss the importance of the editor's introduction.
Why does Tee Bob's love for the teacher Mary Agnes kill him? What does the dialogue about Tee Bob's death mean when Jules Raynard explains that Tee Bob died for their sins?
Why does the author spend so much time discussing Albert Cluveau and his relationship with Jane? In what way does this affect the way that you view the murder of Ned?
Suggested Essay Topics
Discuss the importance of names and naming in the book.
Why does Ned Douglass choose to return to Louisiana? Was this a mistake or not?
What effect does Jane's conversion to religion have on her?
Why does Jane give up her dream of living free in the North to settle down in the south for the rest of her days?
What does the hoodoo Madame Gautier mean when she tells Miss Jane in the chapter "Man's Way" that "slavery made you barren" and that's why Joe must ride the horses to "prove he is a man"?
What do Miss Lilly, Mr. Hardy, and Mary Agnes have in common? Why are they important figures in the quarters?
