Mama Day

How does Mama Day cause readers to question what is natural versus what is unnatural, or even what is supernatural? Refer to specific scenes in the novel as examples.

Ritual is an important theme in Mama Day, and it takes on many forms from character to character. Describe at least three forms of ritual that exist in the novel, making mention of any major characters who represent these forms.

Mama Day includes several pairs of foils, or counterpart characters. Choose two characters that foil each other and compare and contrast them, focusing on how those characters relate to the novel’s major themes.

Mama Day explores the psychological phenomenon of confirmation bias, which posits that people are resistant to changing their preconceptions and beliefs, even when they are confronted with evidence that directly challenges those preconceptions and beliefs. Explain how the novel presents the dangers of confirmation bias using at least three examples from the text.

Willow Springs is a liminal location. In other words, it seems to be ambiguously situated between places rather than in a place. Using examples from the text, explain how Naylor illustrates the liminality of Willow Springs.

While there are a number of counterpart characters in Mama Day, the novel’s two primary settings—New York City and Willow Springs—could also be considered counterparts. Compare and contrast these two settings, not just in terms of their physical characteristics but how they relate to the novel’s central themes as well.

An interesting feature of Mama Day is that the point of view repeatedly shifts between Cocoa, George, and a third-person narrator. One way to recognize when these shifts have occurred is to pay attention to changes in the novel’s writing style. Using examples from the text, explain the stylistic features that distinguish these three points of view from each other.

How does the novel build suspense about the “other place,” particularly in Part 1? Refer to specific examples from the text.