Reading Guide Questions, Part One

For those who are parsing through A Savage Wisdom as part of a reading group, here are a few questions and ideas to help get your group discussion started.

For the non-Louisianans, Google the cities Toni Jo travels to. Also, check Wikipedia articles on Louisiana culture and cuisine.

Questions for Chapters One through Six 

1. While washing dishes, Toni Jo slices her fingertip on a knife. "Toni Jo clutched the finger with her hand, [Harold's] hands enclosing hers, the blood running over the tip of her finger and mingling with the dish water [...]" (page 29). Describe the symbolism of this moment. Briefly recall the inner conflict growing in Toni Jo while she works at the Time-Out Cafe, feeling that her life "had been small" (page 13).

2. Sitting on Mrs. Henry's porch in chapter four, Nevers suggests for Toni Jo to turn out the porch light, which she does. Then she feels for the porch swing with both hands "like a blind woman, her eyes not yet adjusted to the dark" (page 32). How does this foreshadow the events of the first chapter?

3. Told through Nevers' voice, the evangelist (T. Van Mahorn) comments that "'in the twinkling of an eye you'll be changed'" (34). Explore the idea of "change." How do the characters change. What significance does the evangelist's voice being filtered through Nevers' monologue have?

4. Nevers recounts the revival meeting to Toni Jo by saying, "There was something catching about the enthusiasm" (page 34). Apply this statement to Toni Jo's emotional state after meeting Harold Nevers.

5. Tracing the appearance versus reality theme, examine Harold Nevers' admission that "things aren't always what they seem" (page 41-2). How is Harold Nevers like the evangelist T. Van Mahorn?

6. What makes Toni Jo vulnerable to Nevers (his offer for a new job and his advances toward her)?

7. How does the jigsaw puzzle at the beginning of chapter five parallel Toni Jo's life? How is the non-linear construction of the narrative working according to the jigsaw puzzle allusion?

8. Review the elements of a conversion narrative (with the right-angle plot, etc.). Discuss Toni Jo's receipt of a new name as compared to the theme of rebirth or being "born again."

9. Compare Toni Jo's reaction to the pistol in Nevers' glove compartment to her reaction to the gun in chapter one, the day of the murder. 

10. Trace the theme of church and conversion. Explore metaphorical implications within the text (ex. cathedral, baptism, church,altar, etc.).

11. What symbolism does the restaurant name "Terra Incognita" hold?

12. Pursue the use of the word luck/lucky in the context of Nevers' character. Applying the word to the idea of gambling (even with "fate"), revisit the attraction Nevers has over Toni Jo.