Death affects everyone differently. For some people, like Mr. Hill, death is a reminder of the horrors of the past. For others, like Anne-Marion, death is a form of suffering that one should run from. For Meridian, however, death is just another part of life. During her long career of political activism, our titular heroine faces suffering and hardship that would make most of us wish we were dead. Meridian feels that way sometimes, too. It's only by acknowledging that death is a part of life—and that life is something well-worth protecting—that she is able to break free from the ordinary world and become something extraordinary.
Questions About Mortality
- Why is Meridian's dad obsessed with the fate of the Native American people? Explain.
- How do Meridian's death-like experiences shape her understanding of mortality?
- What does the book have to say about the concept of "martyrs"?
- How does Camara's death affect Truman and Lynne?
Chew on This
For Meridian, an awareness of death—first fostered during her experience at the Sacred Serpent—is the first step toward her enlightenment.
The depiction of Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral celebration illustrates the idea that long-suffering communities have a more realistic relationship with death.