Trampoline

Why is it so hard for residents of Canard County to come to an agreement about the presence of coal mining on Blue Bear Mountain? What is each side, the coal mining companies and their employees and supporters versus the anti-coal activists, arguing?

What role do the coal companies play in the community? Why does Mamaw say that they are ones with the power and not the government?

While Mamaw is optimistic about the success of the petition, Dawn is disillusioned with the coal companies and the government’s complacency. Whose viewpoint do you agree with: Mamaw’s idealism or Dawn’s realism?

What role does punk music play in helping Dawn to explore the power of her own voice? Why punk music specifically and not another genre of music, or even another form of artistic expression?

Examine the relationships between Dawn, Mamaw, and Momma. How are they similar and different? How do their lives and choices parallel one another and what does this suggest?

What forces in Dawn’s life attempt to silence her, and how does she overcome them?

Why is Dawn so disgusted by Willett when she sees him in person for the first time? What does this say about her? How does she overcome this?

How do the characters Momma and Hubert redeem themselves by the end of the novel? Do they redeem themselves?