Setting
What is the time period of Freewater? You may give a date range. It should not exceed a certain date.
Acceptable answers 1800s before the Civil War. Date range may not exceed 1861 as the dates of the Civil War are 1861-1865.
Who is the owner of the plantation that Homer and Ada escape from?
Mr. Crumb
What do bows and arrows represent to Sanzi? Use examples from the book to support your answer.
Heroism. Sanzi believes she is acting like Suleman does, and she tries to be a hero like him. Suleman gives her his bow after the rescue at Viola’s wedding symbolizing that she has earned the right.
How do the people of Freewater mark the number of days they have been there?
With a notch per day on the big tree
What is the name of the plantation?
Southerland
Who arrives at Freewater at the end of the story?
Homer and Ada's mother
What does this quote from Homer in Chapter four mean: “We were sold, loaned, taken and ran away, but gifting was the strangest. Gifts sound nice, but slave moving was always ugly. It didn’t seem right to call it gifting.”
It is foreshadowing the attempt of Mr. Crumb to gift Homer’s mom, Rose. It shows how slaves were thought of as mere property to slave owners, and it is confusing to Homer because gifts are supposed to be joyful and there was nothing joyful about this.
What genre or genres is Freewater? Use examples from the book (aka textual evidence) to support your answer.
Historical fiction. It didn't really happen, but the setting and characters are from a realistic historical period such that it "could have" happened.
Adventure. The characters travel across difficult terrain and face great challenges.
North Carolina or Virginia
Why do they risk everything to go to the wedding at Southerland Plantation?
To rescue Homer’s mother, Rose and Anna.
What do scars represent in the story? Use examples from the story.
Scars represent the lasting damage that slavery has done to those enslaved. Many of the characters have physical scars including Rose, Billy and Ada. Others have emotional scars like Ferdinand with nightmares and Billy with a stutter.
Discuss Ferdinand's knife and what it means to him.
It represents freedom to him. We know his knife is important throughout the novel but once the author tells the story of how he received the knife to escape the chain gang does the author specifically tell the reader that it represents freedom to Ferdinand.
Whose cabin did Homer and Ada live in at Freewater?
Ibra's cabin
Which character has a stutter?
Billy
A major theme of Freewater is resisting oppression. Discuss examples of this in the story.
Reasonable answers accepted. For example, that the main characters are all escaping to freedom from enslavement. That Homer and Ada find the independently functioning, free community of Freewater. That Homer and Ada are willing to return to the plantation to rescue their mother.
What does Nora put in Rick and Ron's backpacks as they prepare to hunt Homer and Ada?
Meat, and it attracts a bear!
What is the name of the swamp that inspired the setting of Freewater?
The Great Dismal Swamp
Which characters were born in Freewater?
Sanzi and Juna
It means everything to the main characters. They are willing to risk their lives to escape and must face the loss of family members in the process. (Other examples accepted).
This book is written in a Point Of View Style. What do you think this means? How does it contribute to the story?
The novel is told from multiple points of view as different chapters are told from the different perspectives of different characters. All the reader knows in each chapter is what the main character of that chapter knows.