44 pages • 1 hour read
Gilbert KingDevil in the Grove
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
King claims that the Groveland Boys case was a crucial step in the creation of a “new America.” What does he mean by this? How does King back up his opinion that the Groveland case should be as well-known as, say, Brown v. Board of Education in the annals of civil rights history?
What might be King’s reasons for beginning his book, not directly with the Groveland case, but with Marshall’s successful defense of 25 blacks accused of rioting in Columbia, Tennessee, in 1946?
With which of his colleagues at the NAACP does Marshall seem to get along best? Cite examples from the book.
Does Sheriff Willis McCall come off as a pure villain in the book, or does he have good qualities? Cite examples of each. What are his chief motivations, in your opinion?
What are the factors that contribute to Mabel Norris Reese’s change of attitude toward race? Jesse Hunter’s?
Jack Greenberg states that Marshall and FBI head J. Edgar Hoover were “using each other.” Based on their actions in the book, do you think that Marshall’s anticommunism and Hoover’s commitment to fighting racial injustice were sincere?
What might have been some of the consequences, both positive and negative, of having mixed-race juries in southern courts?
What is the source of the disagreement that leads Marshall to fire Franklin Williams?
Is there a single event that catalyzes public interest in the Groveland case, particularly in the North?
What factors contribute to what King calls the emergence of the “New South” after 1950? Think about political and economic factors, including changes in the Florida leadership.
