QUESTIONS

1. Why does Patty believe Tommy’s story about the robbery and murder? Why is she unaware of his previous crimes? Is she stupid?
   

2. As Tommy goes through his trial and imprisonment, how is Patty treated by “the system”?
   

3. Notice how the trial unfolds like a drama and becomes a “fiction within a fiction.” Do you think this is a realistic depiction of how a trial works?
   

4. How does the author sustain interest in the characters, especially those who are less than likable and/or admirable?
   

5. What are the family dynamics in Patty’s family? Between her and her mother and sisters? Between her and her son? Between Tommy and their son?
   

6. How does O’Nan portray prison life? How does the fact that we follow Tommy’s life in prison only from Patty’s point of view affect the way it is depicted?
   

7. Is Patty passive?
   

8. How does Patty change? What are the turning points in her life during her long period of waiting?
   

9. How has Patty’s tenaciousness influenced the people in her life (her son, husband, sisters, mother)?
   

10. Why does Patty wait? What does being “the good wife” mean to her?
    

Questions compiled by Suzanne Fisher (fishers@uhls.lib.ny.us)
December 6, 2006