49 pages • 1 hour read
Frank J. WebbThe Garies and Their Friends
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1857A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Analyze the white allies of the Garies and their friends. In what ways do they understand the prejudice that Black people face? In what ways are they unaware of the challenges that Black people face?
What is the importance of clothing and appearance more generally in the descriptions of Black people in The Garies and Their Friends?
How is the white working class portrayed in the text? To what extent is this portrayal historically accurate?
Compare and contrast Clarence Garie and Charlie Ellis. How do their character arcs overlap? How are they different?
Author Frank J. Webb uses dialect in select passages of dialogue in the text, such as in McCloskey’s dialogue. What is the significance of where Webb uses dialect and where he does not?
How does the novel portray the role of women in creating Solidarity and Resistance Within Black Communities? How is this role limited? To what extent are they active participants?
Identify passages where Webb portrays Black families as typical and no different from white families. What is the purpose of these passages? What argument do they implicitly make?
Analyze the role of humor in the narrative. How does it make the text more engaging? How is it part of Solidarity and Resistance Within Black Communities?
What are the differences between racism in the antebellum South and North as shown in the text? What are the similarities?
To what extent do minor Black characters like Aunt Rachel and Aunt Comfort exemplify minstrel stereotypes? What does this characterization suggest about the classism present in the text?
