73 pages • 2 hours read
Charles R. JohnsonMiddle Passage
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1990A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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Johnson chooses to organize the novel into entries in a logbook. Discuss his possible reasons for choosing this format and the impact of this choice on the experience of reading the novel.
Discuss Rutherford Calhoun’s development as a character. What is he like at the start of the novel? How does he change? What experience or people have the biggest impact on him?
Compare and contrast Rutherford and Ngonyama. How do their experiences and worldviews compare?
Research the middle passage. Based on your research, how accurate is Johnson’s representation?
Using support from the novel, discuss the meaning of the Republic as a symbol. What does its fate imply about the fate of the United States?
Discuss Johnson’s use of foreshadowing in the novel. How and in what instances does he use foreshadowing?
Ebenezer Falcon is a pirate turned ship’s captain who is both famous and infamous. What drives him to go on his voyages and steal cultural artifacts? Based on his representation in the novel and the plot, what does Johnson seem to be saying about imperialism and colonialism?
Discuss the representation of women in the novel. Why might Johnson have chosen to make their presence so slight, based on the setting? What role does Isadora Bailey play in Rutherford’s redemption?
Discuss the role of setting—the ship, the Atlantic Ocean, and Atlantic ports—in the novel.
Compare and contrast Allmuseri and Western philosophy as they appear in the novel, particularly in terms of what they have to say about ethics, identity, and violence.
