Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- When you think of a typical hero, what comes to mind? What qualities does Phoenix share with the typical hero? What qualities does she have that make her an unlikely hero?
- The story is split into two settings, the country path and the city. What changes between these two settings?
- Several of the characters Phoenix meets are conflicting in the way they treat her. Sometimes they're nice, sometimes they're impatient, and sometimes they're downright hostile. One character might demonstrate all three of these kinds of actions. Why the range in how the characters treat Phoenix? What could it mean that a character seems to be kind one minute and then negative the next?
- We Shmoopers had some debate about whether to include Phoenix's grandson as a character in the character analysis section. He is very important to the story, but he never speaks nor is he seen in the story. What do you think about this kind of character? How would the story change if the boy were actually in it? Can you think of other stories, books, or movies with a character that is central to the story but never actually present in it?
- Would this story be different if Phoenix was a black man? How about if she was a white woman?