Ferris Beach (46 page)

1. Katie has a birthmark that some people use as a way to identify her. The birthmark is a symbol of how people are stereotyped in this community. Discuss the social strata the novel describes—from those within Katie’s class at school to those within the broader structure of the town.

2. Popular culture references to the 1970s—music, fashion, lifestyle—abound in
Ferris Beach.
How has the transition from the 1960s to the 1970s affected life in Fulton?

3.
The Diary of a Young Girl,
by Anne Frank, is an important part of Katie’s life, as it is for many girls her age. What is the significance of Katie’s identification with Anne Frank?

4. Throughout the novel, Katie discovers that people and situations are often not what they appear. What are some examples of this, and what do these second looks Katie takes lead her to discover about herself?

5. Angela and Mo Rhodes are women Katie idolizes. She finds them both beautiful and wonderfully alive. Discuss how she ultimately comes to see each of them in a very different light and how she makes sense of that.

6. Katie’s mother is a misplaced northerner, an outsider in Fulton. How does her different geographical origin play out in a larger theme within the novel? Who are the other outsiders here, and what makes them so?

7. This is a novel of mothers and daughters and how they relate to one another. Discuss whether you think the author has portrayed these relationships realistically.

8. Merle Hucks is a character who takes on an unexpected role. What—or who—is responsible for the path he takes?

9. Sally Jean Rhodes often misuses words and says inappropriate things. How does such a comic figure contribute to the overall progression of the novel?

10. Mrs. Teresa Poole represents the Old South in many ways. Discuss her effects—both positive and negative—on the community.

11. Katie watches the Rhodes’ house across the street as if she is watching a play. And she witnesses, from a magnolia tree, Perri Loomis’s rape. Discuss these acts of witnessing and Katie’s role as witness. Does the witness have a responsibility? What about the role of the witness in the larger context of race and class?

12. Television is used as a backdrop during the dramatic scene when the reader learns that Mo is not coming home. What is the effect of the background noise?

13. The death of Katie’s father is significant and sets off a series of changes, most notably in Katie’s relationship with her mother. How and why do these changes take place, and how is what happens between Katie and her mother similar to or different from what happens between Misty and Sally Jean?

14. Whispering Pines Cemetery serves as an important backdrop in
Ferris Beach.
Discuss the many ways the characters in the novel are haunted.

J
ILL
M
C
C
ORKLE
is the author of nine books—five of which have been selected as
New York Times
Notable Books. She is the winner of the New England Book Award, the John Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. Now a professor of writing at North Carolina State University, McCorkle has also taught at Bennington College, Harvard University, and the University of North Carolina. She lives with her husband in Hillsborough, North Carolina.