The Trees

How does Everett subvert his modern reader’s expectations of race in America? In what ways does his setting read as both a setting from the past and a setting that is contemporary?

Everett uses dark humor to pose profound questions about society and people. Identify three different moments in which Everett uses dark humor and analyze why he elects to use dark humor in those moments.

Everett uses satire to criticize modern America’s relationship with the legacy of racism. Identify three different moments in which Everett uses satire and analyze why he elects to use satire in those moments.

Why is Mama Z more threatened by Herbie than by Ed and Jim? Connect your analysis to Herbie’s intersectional identity.

The white people in Money, Mississippi, regularly use racist slurs, yet seem to know that these slurs are not appropriate in all situations. What does this reveal about the nature of racism and racist language? When do they keep themselves from using slurs, and why?

How does the novel handle the conflict between justice and revenge? Are conventional notions of justice and revenge applicable to the actions of Gertrude’s organization by the novel’s logic?

How does the history of lynching inform the narrative? What key aspects of the plot rely on this history?

How do the novel’s views on The Importance of Documenting History challenge commonly held notions about the subject? Consider the deeply personal connection between the historians present in the novel and the histories they record.