Jubilee

Describe the characteristics of Southern femininity. How were these codes of behavior, which were intended to elevate white women, exemplary of some aspects of sexism in the 19th century?

Describe the relationship between black woman and white women, particularly that between Vyry and Lillian. What respective roles do they learn according to their races and genders?

Explain the importance of Christianity in the novel. How do characters, such as Missy Salina, the preacher who presides over the hanging, and Brother Ezekiel, use Scripture to validate their respective ideas? Why is the Bible an important tool for both the enslaved and the enslavers? 

In what ways does the character of Kevin MacDougall serve as a foil for that of John Dutton, Jr.? Why do you think the author determines them to have similar fates as Confederate soldiers, despite their different beliefs?

How are Marse John Dutton and Randall Ware similar, both in their attitudes toward Vyry and in their understandings of themselves as enterprising men?

Innis Brown alludes to a speech by Booker T. Washington about the importance of black people maintaining their agrarian traditions and using them as a path to success, which Randall Ware rejects in favor of education and political power. How are these men’s views representative of different and evolving ideas about how African Americans could achieve progress in the late-19th century?

When Vyry tells Randall Ware about Lillian’s descent into madness, he attributes her condition to an inability to confront the truth. What does he mean by this? Do you agree or disagree?

How does the author depict the experience of trauma in the novel and its impact on memory? How do some of the main characters cope with trauma? How do they replicate their experiences?