Choose one of the following options to address in a 2 page, double spaced essay. Your essay should begin with a well-articulated thesis, be supported with evidence from the text (quotes), properly punctuated, and proofread.

1. Ellen is searching for a home. Trace how her definition of home changes from the beginning of the novel to the end. What examples does she find to help her create a definition of home? What negative examples is she reacting to? Support you answer with examples from the text.

2. Ellen is a person who is inclined to make lists; she is very concerned with order. What attempts does she make to introduce order into her own life? What is the source of this need for order and how does it help her survive? Support you answer with examples from the text.

3. "Nobody but a handful of folks I know pays attention to rules about how to treat somebody anyway," Ellen reflects. "But as I lay in that bed and watch my Starletta fall asleep I figure if they could fight a war over how I’m supposed to think about her then I’m obligated to do it" (p. 126). What discovery has Ellen made here? Why is Starletta’s weekend visit so important to Ellen? Trace the changes Ellen makes in her attitude towards Starletta and race. Support you answer with examples from the text.

4. Ellen does not believe in the church’s version of God. "Chickenshit is what I would say" (p. 96), she says of Nadine’s version of Heaven. But she does have her own version of God, and speaks to him on occasion. What sort of relationship does she have with the deity? What kind of deity is he—fair or strict? Accessible or inaccessible? Forgiving or unforgiving? Support you answer with examples from the text.

5. Re-read the quote Gibbons uses to begin the book. Why do you think she has chosen the quotation from Emerson’s Self-Reliance to begin the book? How does the quotation relate to the text and to the character of Ellen? Support you answer with examples from the text.

6. Two of the primary metaphors that recur throughout the novel are the magician and the microscope. What do you think each symbolizes. Who is the magician? How do his "appearances" after the deaths of Ellen’s mother and father affect her internalization of the events? Why does the novel’s diction change so markedly during these passages?