43 pages • 1 hour read
Abeng
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Essay Topics
Why did Black people kill or inform on each other before emancipation as in the case of Nanny? What do you think were some of the consequences of their actions for society?Why did Black people kill or inform on each other before emancipation as in the case of Nanny? What do you think were some of the consequences of their actions for society?
Why did the justice burn his slaves on the eve of their emancipation? Do you think he felt guilty afterwards? Did he consider himself a bad person?
How would you describe “ladylike” behavior as understood by Jamaicans? What about Clare’s desire to hunt a pig and her accidental killing of the bull threatens her status as a lady? Why did Kitty, who loves her people, insist on the importance of learning to be a lady?
What roles does Christianity play on the island? What is the significance of the differences in worship between various communities?
Do you think Miss Mattie and Kitty are unable or unwilling to be emotionally close to their children? Why? Why do they refuse to talk about the traumatic experiences in their lives? How do people in general deal with trauma on the island?
Slavery in Jamaica has been abolished for over a century when the story opens in 1958. Why are darker-skinned people treated as inferior by everyone, including other colored and mixed-race people? Why are the women who visit Miss Mattie separated into two groups who do not mix?
Why does Kitty stay with Boy, despite his drinking, betting, and philandering? Why does she go along with his opinions and decisions even if she disagrees with them?
Imagine you are one of Clare’s teachers. Outline in detail the arguments and facts you would have presented Clare as an explanation of the Holocaust. How is that explanation different from or similar to explanations of the same events found in textbooks and other official narratives at present?
Do you think Clare and Zoe will remain friends? Do we see instances of true friendship in the book?
What is the general opinion of same-sex relationships in the book? How do people in the novel distance themselves from those they think do not fit in with social norms?
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