1. Read the quilt (137-38). What stories does it tell? What sort of narrative? George and Cocoa disagree over its use (147): what's the significance of their disagreement?
Pages 138-39 tells various stories, it starts with Miranda making the quilt using different pieces of cloth from everyone in the family, even those who are not alive anymore. For example she uses a piece of her father's Sunday shirt, "Abigail's lace slip", she uses a piece of something that had been wore by every member of the family. Then when she is putting in a piece of homespun that had been used by Bascombe Wade's wife, the novel starts telling the story of Saphira and Bascombe Wade. It questions what had really happened between the two of them and if Wade had really been Saphira's kids' father. After that the story goes to Ophelia and Miranda has like this affirmations in her mind that tell her that Cocoa's husband wouldn't be visiting Willow Springs any time soon.
The narrative is not like continuous. It jumps from one story to the other. It goes from the present to tell about the past and then about the future. It is like a roller coaster that goes from one place to the other.
On page 147 George and Cocoa have different opinions as to what to do with the quilt, he wanted to hang it up on a wall and Cocoa knew that the quilt was not meant to be for that but to be used by her and her future generations. In their disagreement about what use to give to it, it is as if Cocoa didn't believe they were going to have kids, much less grandkids.
2. The novel offers many clues regarding the specific years in which it takes place - 1999 for the opening pages, 1980 (56, 100), early 1981 (127), late 1981 (147), 1985 (158, 161) - and refers to specific historical events, like Reagan's investment in the Cold War, discussions of slavery, and so on. In addition to its many references to chronological time, the novel also refers to non-chronological time. See, for example, pages 157-58, and 160-61. Why? Why does the novel raise these sorts of questions? And while we're on the topic of time, turn to the history of the Days (150-51, and elsewhere). Why does the novel give these characters the name "Day"? In these pages (150-51), who's the speaker? Where does the narrative voice shift here?
I think the novel talks about non-chronological time because it is necessary to show the change in people. George and Cocoa see it differently, he thinks things change and now he can know many other things about his wife than before, she was raised in Willow Springs were things never change. For them time passes by really slow and allows them do with their lives whatever they think is best.
It raises these kind of questions to show how the couple was joining their lives in every aspect that what was important to her became important for him too.
The novel gave these characters the name Day because that was the way Saphira wanted it to be. When she had her seventh son, she declared that "God had rested on the seventh day and so would she", so she went ahead and gave her last son Day as his last name. She was powerful and compared herself to God by saying she would rest the same day God did. And that is how John-Paul's descendants had the Day last name as well.
On page 151 the speaker is John-Paul Day. The narrative voice shifts on the last paragraph of the same page.
3. In the novel, does history determine you or do you determine your history? What's the relationship between one's ability to act, on the one hand, and being acted upon, on the other? Look at the comments on history on pages 126-27, 129-31, and 138.
In the novel history determines you. The way your history had developed since back in the days when your ancestors existed, is an important key to determine how you will think, behave and do things in your life. In the book, one's history leaves a scar deep inside the person that will determine the way that person acts throughout life.
I think one's ability to act and being acted upon have a close relationship and go together. People are able to act according to what they want but according to circumstances, mistakes or things in the past people are acted upon, they are obligated to act influenced by any of these events.
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