Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Is it surprising that Alice Walker would portray an educated, progressively-minded African American character like Dee in such a negative light? Is it problematic? Instructive?
- How does being limited to the narrator's point of view affect our reading of the story? What would the story look like if it were told from Dee's perspective? Maggie's? Hakim-a-barber's?
- Which details does the narrator leave out of the story that you wish she'd told us? How might they affect our interpretation of the story?
- Did you agree with the narrator's decision to give the quilts to Maggie? Is there any case to be made that Dee should've gotten the quilts (calling all devil's advocates and future lawyers on this one)?
- Is it possible to support the politics or ideas of a character such as Dee who is so unlikeable? Or does her nasty attitude turn us completely off from her message?
- Is Dee's embrace of Africa an affront to her African American relatives?
- We're told that the narrator's education ended in second grade, while Dee has been to college. How do their different educational backgrounds affect their relationship? What insights does the story offer about education and schooling?