If I Survive You

Discuss the characterization of Trelawny. How would you describe his struggle for identification and belonging? What impacts Trelawny’s personal growth and identity development?

How are hurricanes used as a motif within these stories? Which of the novel’s themes does this motif speak to?

Discuss the theme of Immigration and Cultural Identity. How do each of the members of Trelawny’s family have to navigate between multiple ways of identifying? Which of the characters are more (and less) comfortable in the United States, and why?

Discuss Topper’s characterization. Is he a sympathetic figure? Why or why not?

Discuss the theme of Intersectionality Socioeconomic Status, and Race. What various factors affect Trelawny and his family? How do those factors interact, and how do those interactions compound each factor’s effect alone?

What does Trelawny’s red Dodge Raider represent? How does this symbol speak to the novel’s thematic structure?

Discuss the role of setting in the novel. How do the various neighborhoods in Miami, as well as in Jamaica, help readers understand these characters?

Discuss the symbol of the ackee tree. What does it represent, and how does it speak to the novel’s key themes? Consider each man’s role in transplanting, receiving, and harming the tree.