Book Club Discussion Questions for The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Literature of the American South and our BookBrowse Review of The Homecoming of Samuel Lake.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. What would you sacrifice for your family? Did Toy do the right thing? Did Sam?



2. What purpose did Swan and Uncle Toy have to each other and to the other characters in the story?



3. In what ways does The Homecoming of Samuel Lake remind you of other Southern Gothic style literature? Give examples.



4. How does the character Swan Lake compare to Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird? How does Atticus Finch compare to Samuel Lake?



5. Compare the characters of Willadee and Bernice. How were they different? How were they similar?



6. What role does the church play in the development of the story? Why does Swan wish that her father was anything but a preacher?



7. Explore the difference between the Moses' Truth and the Honest Truth. Both present their own challenges. Discuss how in the end the Honest Truth supports the Moses Truth.




Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Random House. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.