A great deal of the suspense in Sarah, Plain and Tall revolves around Sarah's decision to either stay or leave the Witting family. Obviously, there's a lot riding on this particular decision, since staying would involve marrying Jacob and making the prairie her home for good, instead of returning to her beloved seaside hometown. In particular, Anna and Caleb are super anxious about Sarah's decision-making process and watch her closely for any sign of her decision. When Sarah finally announces that she'll stay at the end, it's a huge relief. Everyone can relax at long last.
Questions About Choices
- Why does Sarah need a whole month to make her decision? Does that seem like a long or short time to you? Why?
- Is Jacob anxious about Sarah's decision at all? Why or why not? How can you tell?
- Why are Caleb and Anna so stressed out about Sarah's decision? Are their reasons the same or are there some differences?
- Do you think the kids can actually do anything to impact Sarah's decision? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Throughout the book, Sarah's decision to stay or go hangs over the Witting family, and it's only when she makes up her mind that they can finally relax and truly enjoy time together as a family.
Although Jacob's the one looking for a wife, he lets his children write to Sarah and decide to invite her to come because he knows that this is more of a family decision than an individual one.