Other Voices, Other Rooms Theme of Race

Even though Other Voices, Other Rooms was written in the 1940s, the legacy of slavery in the Deep South can still be seen on almost every page. The old plantation where the novel takes place still shows the signs of the slaves that used to work it: a rusty old bell that used to call them in from the fields; the black family living on a cabin and working for the white family that lives in the big house. The racial divide is so deep that the characters seem to take it as a natural, unchanging fact.

1. What are the effects of racial inequality on characters like Zoo and Jesus Fever? Are there any effects for Joel?
2. When the white men rape Zoo, she points out that a black man held the gun to her head. Why does his race matter in the story? Why does she bring it up?
3. Why do you think that Jesus Fever and Zoo continue living at Skully's Landing when it isn't even their property? Aren't they free to go? What's up with that?

Zoo and Jesus Fever exemplify the long-lasting effects of slavery, even after its abolishment.

The characters in Other Voices, Other Rooms, have normalized racism to the point that they don't even know to complain about it.