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Characters |
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1850 - 1875 |
2019 |
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Dr. Elisha
Warfield Wife Anne and Mary
Jane – daughters Cassius
“Cash” Clay – emancipationist Harry Clay –
father, horse breeder Mary Jane –
wife Mary Barr
Clay – daughter Harry Lewis –
bought freedom, horse trainer Beth –
housekeeper for Warfield’s, married Harry who bought her freedom Jarret
– son, saving to buy his freedom Edward Troye
– painter Thomas Scott
– animal painter Alice Carneal
– horse Darley –
pony, trained by Jarret, renamed Lexington Richard Ten
Broeck – bought Lexington and Jarret Pryor -
Broeck’s trainer, abused Lexington Metairie –
Ten Broeck’s racetrack 1855 Martha
Jackson – art dealer in New York, left Smithsonian one of Scott’s pictures of
Lexington Annie –
housekeeper, family had painting Robert
Alexander – bought Jarret and Lexington 1861 Mary and Son
Robbie living with Jarret Robert – left
with him when returned from war 1871 –Jarret
in Canada Lucinda and
Lucien – wife and son |
Theo – wrote
for Smithsonian Magazine, found painting of horse PhD
dissertation on black people depicted as humans in old paintings Jess –
Smithsonian, Osteology Prep Lab Maisy –
assistant Dr. Catherine
Morgan – The Museum of the Horse Thomasina “Tom”
Custler – marine mammal biologist, whale skull |
For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.
1.
Did reading this book give you any new insights
into slavery in the South? The chapter
headings about Jarret aways referred to him by his owner’s name. Did that have an impact on your
understanding?
2.
How do you think Jarret felt when his father
kept delaying buying his freedom, first because he did not have enough money
and then because he spent the money to buy his wife, Beth.
3.
Have you been around horses? Did this book give you any insights into the
temperament of horses? Jarret wanted to
avoid the “hatefulness in Boston’s nature [that] had come from ill-usage” and
“Alice’s high-strung ways” when he was training Darley (page 60).
4.
When Jess confronted Theo about the bikes (they
had the same bike and lock and she thought he was stealing hers), did you think
that was racism?
5.
In 2019 Theo described to Jess the racism he
incurred at his boarding school. His
father’s advice was, “You have to know that bigots are unwittingly handing you
an edge. By thinking you’re lesser than they are, they underestimate you…Learn
to use it, and you’ll get the upper hand” (page 168). How did this advice also apply to Jarret?
6.
Were you surprised that so much of the book
seemed to be about racism? Do you agree
that it was? What did you think about
these other incidents – racism or not?
a.
In 1861, Thomas Scott told Jarret that he did
not believe in slavery, but Jarret thought he might “not hold with
it…but don’t mind holding the cash that comes from it” (page 306).
b.
In talking with Catherine, she compared slavery
with the upper-class attitude to the lower classes in England and said, “I
mean, not everything has to be about race, does it?” (page 277). Theo found this comment offensive.
c.
Theo’s advisor asked him about his dissertation,
“Why must you illustrate these cases, where enslaved people are not
depicted in a dehumanized and stereotypical say? It is rare and exceptional” (page 291).
d.
What happened to Theo (page 348).
7.
In 1961, when Mary’s husband, Robert, returned
from the war, she and her son left Jarret to go with him. Jarret seemed to accept that outcome. Were you surprised about her decision?
8.
Before you knew the ending, did you think Theo
should have given the painting back to his neighbor?
9.
Why do you think Scott’s paintings of Lexington
were so popular?
10.
What did you learn from this book? For example,
I learned that museums use bugs to clean bones (page 135) and conditions that
affect the whale population in the North Atlantic (noise, wind farms - page
48).
11.
Discuss your reading experience. Did you like the organization, how the story
progressed, the ending?
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