DISCUSSION QUESTIONS The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
1. What would you sacrifice for your family? Did Toy do the right
thing? Did Sam?
2. What purpose did Swan and Uncle Toy have to each other and to the
other characters in the story?
3. In what ways does The Homecoming of Samuel Lake remind you of
other Southern Gothic style literature? Give examples.
4. How does the character Swan Lake compare to Scout Finch in To Kill a
Mockingbird? How does Atticus Finch compare to Samuel Lake?
5. Compare the characters of Willadee and Bernice. How were they
different? How were they similar?
6. What role does the church play in the development of the story? Why
does Swan wish that her father was anything but a preacher?
7. Explore the difference between the Moses' Truth and the Honest
Truth. Both present their own challenges. Discuss how in the end the
Honest Truth supports the Moses Truth.