Under the Tulip Tree

What does Frankie say about hatred? Do her thoughts line up with what you believe hatred can do to a person? Does she ever receive an apology from the people who wronged her? What does Frankie need to do to get rid of the hidden hate she is holding on to?

At different points when both Rena and Frankie are confronted with difficult revelations, their initial response is to run. In what other ways do people react in the heat of the moment? How do you typically handle unpleasant news?

What is Frankie’s secret to survival after she is sold away from her family? What does it cost her? How would you answer the questions she and Alden have about God, including “What kind of love was it to enslave people simply because of the color of their skin?” and “What’s the point of putting one’s faith in something or someone who allows slavery and evil to exist?”

Frankie remembers her mother encouraging her, "Ain’t nuthin’ you can’t do if you set your mind to it.” What was Lucindia hoping to instill in her children? What does Frankie eventually take away from her mother’s words? When has someone spoken into your life and given you the confidence you needed to take the next step?

A trip to the library to pick up Uncle Tom’s Cabin leaves Rena meeting a sour-faced librarian who grumbles, “Literature like this only stirs up things best left in the past.” Yet this was a book that President Lincoln credited with starting the Civil War. What does that say about the power of story? Consider the parables Jesus used with his disciples. Why is story valuable?

Frankie initially resists getting to know Sam. Why is she so hesitant? When he tries to give her a Christmas gift, why does she run away? What is she afraid of? What changes her mind about him?

While he is recovering, what does Sam ask Frankie to do that she is adamant she will not do? Why is he so insistent she help? What does Luke 6:27 say? How does Frankie respond to that biblical instruction initially? Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel? Have you ever had an opportunity to serve your enemies in a tangible way?

Jael describes an incident on a streetcar. Why do you think the conductor denies a passenger’s ticket book? Why doesn’t the would-be passenger accept the help of another? How do you react when you see similar instances of injustice happening today or when they happen to you? Are there times when it’s more appropriate to stand up and fight or to sit back?

As Frankie considers Sam’s request to help in the prison hospital, what counsel does Illa give her? What transformation does Frankie need to undergo to overcome her fear and hatred?

Rena Leland’s life is turned upside down when the stock market crashes. What changes occur in her family after October 29, 1929? Why do you think Rena believes her father blames her for the financial crisis? Think about a time in your life when your family experienced a devastating loss. How did you cope? What, if anything, gave you hope?

When Rena is presented with an opportunity to become part of the Federal Writers’ Project, she wonders why the government felt it was important to preserve the stories of former slaves. How would you answer that question? What can we learn when we take the time to ask for and listen to each other’s stories? What do we gain when we share our own stories?

Rena’s grandmother encourages Rena, who admits to feeling “stuck,” to step out in faith and take the FWP job. But Rena still wonders, “How could interviewing people who’d lived in bondage decades earlier help me see my future more clearly?” What does Rena learn as she begins her new job? How does she change as a result of seeing the world with a different perspective? When have you been able to step into someone else’s shoes and viewed things in a new light?

As Frances Washington begins to tell her story, what surprises you about her life? What makes you sad? How realistic does her account seem?

Frankie’s mother has no choice but to send Frankie back into the Hall home the day after a traumatic event. Later, Frankie tells Rena that while society has improved since her childhood, “times is still hard” for Frankie, her family, and many others. In what ways has our culture grown in race relations since the Civil War? Since 1936? Where do we still fall short and what can we do to continue improving?

Why does Rena worry about a connection between her family and Frankie’s? What does she fear? What does she learn about forgiveness? When life doesn’t make sense, how do you trust in God’s promise that in all things, he is working for our good?

Rena finds inspiration in the charge Harriet Beecher Stowe gives: “The time is come when even a woman or a child who can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak. . . . I hope every woman who can write will not be silent.” Rena knows her articles for the FWP are “a small pebble on the path to the peaceful existence among people of different races and socioeconomic status.” What pebble can you contribute?