|
Characters |
|
Nathan and
Ruth Drum Frank –
narrator Ariel Jake Grandfather
and Liz (second wife) Gus – served
with Nathan during the war Brandt
Family: Emil – Ruth’s
former fiancĂ©, blinded in war, musician Lise – sister,
deaf Axel and
Julia - Emil and Lise’s brother and wife Karl – son,
Ariel’s boyfriend Police: Doyle Blake Gregor –
county sheriff Danny O’Keefe
– friend of Frank’s Warren
Redstone – Indian sitting with “Skipper’s” body when Frank found them, had
Bobby Cole’s glasses Morris
Engdahl – bully Mrs. Klement – alto in choir, came to Nathan for
marital counseling Peter – son,
Frank’s age Travis –
husband, abusive Avis and Edna
Sweeney – neighbors, Frank spied on Edna’s laundry on line, came to Nathan
for marital counseling Bobby Cole –
first death “Skipper” –
itinerant, second death |
For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.
1.
Was it realistic to expect Ruth to make the
transition from her expectation of being the wife of a successful lawyer to being
a minister’s wife?
2.
Given that Nathan was a minister, God and faith
were featured prominently in the book. Do you agree with that statement? Do you think a Christian would read the book
differently than a non-Christian?
3.
Frank thought that Jake “often took the measure
of a situation and of people much more accurately than others might have” (page
200). Why was that?
4.
Why did Jake’s stuttering go away after he said
an “ordinary grace” at Ariel’s funeral luncheon?
5.
Why do you think Lise and Jake had such a
special relationship and could communicate with each other?
6.
Was Frank responsible for helping to solve
things or did he cause more trouble by always ease dropping and spying on
people?
7.
Was Frank and/or Doyle partially responsible for
Karl’s death because they shared private information between Karl and Nathan?
8.
Was Officer Doyle one of the few evil characters
in the book? Consider that he told
others about the confidential conversation between Nathan and Karl and also
blew up the frog with the firecracker in front of Frank.
9.
What did you think about Gus? Did you like his character? How important was his friendship to
Nathan? Were you surprised he played
such an important part in the story?
10.
As you read, what were your thoughts and suspicions
about Ruth, Emil and Ariel? How was
Nathan able to be so accepting of Ruth going to stay with Emil after Ariel’s
death?
11.
The story was written from Frank’s perspective,
40 years later. Regarding Engdahl, Frank
thought, “Now, forty years later, I realize that what I saw was a kid not all
that much older than me…blind and lost…I probably should have felt for him
something other than I did which was hatred” (page 10). Would it have been possible for Frank to see Engdahl
differently at his young age?
12.
On page 306, Frank said what he has learned from
studying history is that there is, “no such thing as a true event…accounts of
what happened depend upon the perspectives from which the event is
viewed.” How do you think some of the
other characters would have told this story?
13.
Did you like the way the story ended?
*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com and wordassociation.com.
