Problem 1. The novel was published in 1937. The critical reception o it was negative and the book was nearly forgotten until the feminist movement of the 1970's "rediscovered" it. What do you think feminist scholars liked in the book? Be specific.
Problem 2. The novel is a frame story, like The Great Gatsby. What advantages and what disadvantages are there to using the frame story format?
Problem 3. What does your group think that the title might mean?
Problem 4. What is your group's reaction to the dialect used in the conversations in the book?
Problem 5. What are the townspeople's reactions to Janie when she returns to Eatonville in chapter 1?
Problem 6. Describe Janie in these first chapters. What is her personality like? How did she first "discover" that she was black?
Problem 7. There's a great poetic passage about a pear tree in bloom on pages 10-11. Discuss what you think it means.
Problem 8. Make a family chart of Janie's parents and (one set) of grandparents, based on the details that are revealed in the second half of chapter 2.