Small Great Things

This novel is arguably a novel with an agenda. Using the particulars of Small Great Things, as well as specific passages, describe what the apparent thesis of the book is, and then make your argument for how effective or ineffective you find it to be: Who seems to be the audience Picoult is writing for? What specific sections of the novel do you think might have the most (or least) impact on that audience, and why?

The major sections that Small Great Things is broken into include stages of labor, from the beginning, “Stage One: Early Labor,” to the final chapter, “Stage Three: Afterbirth,” and of course, the plot of the novel revolves around a labor and delivery nurse in Ruth Jefferson. What metaphorical meanings or linkages do you find in the stages of labor when paired with the content of each section? Choose at least two sections and provide specific evidence from each to illustrate your claims.

Ruth and her sister, Adisa (formerly Rachel), take significantly different paths in their lives, which impacts not only their relationship with one another but also their outlook on race and racism in this country. Selecting specific passages featuring one or the other, or both, of these characters, discuss these differences and how they fit into the themes and messages about race that Picoult is crafting in this novel.

The depictions of racism in this novel run the gamut, from overt acts of white supremacists to micro-aggressions perpetrated by otherwise well-meaning people. Compare and contrast a few examples of each. How does Picoult depict these instances in each case? How are they written similarly and differently? Why do you think this is?

Two of the most prominent reviews of Small Great Things came from Eleanor Brown, in The Washington Post, and Roxane Gay, in The New York Times, and the two had differing takes on the novel. Read both of these reviews and then decide which reviewer aligns more closely with your own thoughts on the novel. Then support your assertions with passages from the text and your own analysis.

Because this is a novel that shifts between three different point-of-view characters, there are some chapters that overlap, narrating the same moment through two different characters’ perspectives. Choose a handful of moments like this and discuss the effects this layering has on the scene described, and on the novel as a whole. What do we learn about each character in these moments? What does this reveal about the novel’s themes?

One of main features of this novel’s structure is including a brief Prologue, taking place well before the main action of the plot, and an Epilogue, taking place years after the main action. In an essay, describe the effects of each of these separately, as well as their combined impact on the events that occur between. How would the novel be different without them? Why do you think Picoult chose to set these at the time periods before and after that she did?

While the three point-of-view characters of the novel are the most prominent, there are a number of other minor characters who play a role in the proceedings of Ruth’s trial and its outcome, such as the hospital risk management liaison, Carla Luongo, Ruth’s coworkers, Wallace Mercy and Odette Lawton, among others. Choose two of these minor characters and discuss the ways in which they complicate or otherwise develop some of the novel’s themes. How is the novel different for their presence? In what ways do they change throughout the novel?