58 pages • 1 hour read
Kim Michele RichardsonThe Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A 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
What communities does the novel depict? Select one of these communities and explain its significance to the novel’s larger themes, citing from the text to support your point.
Why is Pa so insistent on Cussy Mary’s marriage at the beginning of the book? How do his attitudes change? Use quotes from the text to support your ideas.
What leads Cussy Mary to stop taking Doc’s tablets? How does this decision inform our understanding of larger themes within the book?
Compare and contrast the characters of Angeline and Cussy Mary. What do their similarities and differences reveal about life in the Kentucky hills at this time?
Compare and contrast the characters of Queenie and Harriett. How do their attitudes towards Cussy Mary illustrate the narrative’s broader themes?
Who is or are the antagonist(s) in the novel? Support your ideas using quotes from the text.
How does Junia, the mule, shed light on the reader’s understanding of Cussy Mary? Discuss the characters’ development over the course of the novel.
What is the significance of Cussy Mary’s scrapbooks? What do they symbolize, and how do they contribute to the larger themes of the novel?
What does Cussy Mary want at the beginning of the book? How does her character arc lead her closer to or further away from this goal? Support your thesis using quotes from the text.
How does the meaning of the courting candle change over the course of the book? What does this symbol tell the reader about broader themes within the text? Cite sections of the text to support your ideas.
