55 pages • 1 hour read
Nancy E. TurnerThese Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Discuss Sarah’s growth as a character over the course of the novel. How would you describe her in the first four chapters? Which life events reveal significant maturation of her character? Which aspects of her life and her narrative perspective hold her back?
Analyze Jack’s character. What drives and motivates him when Sarah first meets him? How and when do his motivations change? Is there “a secret man inside” Jack Elliot that Sarah may never know (237), or is he a more dynamic and complex character than she realizes?
What role do animals play in Sarah’s marriages, and how does this change as she matures?
Of all the people Sarah comes to know in the novel, who do you believe has the most lasting positive influence on her? Explain your answer, citing evidence from Sarah’s diary.
What role do Savannah and her children play in These Is My Words? How does their story develop one or more of the novel’s themes?
The novel takes place in cities such as Tucson and Austin, as well as along wagon trails and in Arizona Territory. Compare and contrast its representations of town life and country life. How do their differences affect Sarah and April? Where does Sarah feel more comfortable and protected, and why?
Analyze the novel’s title. How does it relate to important symbols, themes, and plot points in These Is My Words?
What does The Duchess of Warwick and Her Sorrow by the Sea represent for Sarah? How does the role of this book change throughout her life? Support your answer with evidence from the novel.
Compare and contrast the lives of Mama, Sarah, and April. Among these different generations, what differences do you see in women’s lives? How does April’s life vary from Sarah’s, and in what ways may it be similar to hers?
Explain the significance of Mama’s name never being recorded in the text. Does this reveal something about her character? Why does Sarah keep her at a remove from much of the narrative’s action?
