Tumbling
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- What details
does McKinney-Whetstone provide that so wonderfully evoke the setting
of that South Philly neighborhood during the forties and fifties? How
do McKinney-Whetstone's colorful characters, such as Next-Door-Jeanie
and Cardplaying-Rose enliven this neighborhood and further evoke the
setting? How does the setting help define the themes in Tumbling?
- Compare and
contrast the characters of Noon and Ethel, Liz and Fannie, Willie and
Herbie. How do McKinney-Whetstone's female characters differ from her
male characters? How do her female characters view her male characters
and vice versa? For example, what is Ethel's view of men? What is Liz's?
- The family at
the center of Tumbling -- Noon and Herbie -- is highly unconventional.
Describe the ways in which this is so. Discuss the irony implicit in
Noon's raising Fannie and Liz. McKinney-Whetstone writes, "Agreeing
to Liz's staying just because that's what Noon wanted would keep his
spine erect. Keep it from buckling, warping, even snapping in two from
the extra weight he carried in his heart." Discuss the irony of Herbie's
acceptance of Liz into the family as his way of counteracting the guilt
he feels for his infidelity. What problems does this create that keep
the family off balance? Discuss the ways in which the family is ultimately
a success.
- Noon spends
more than 20 years married to Herbie, unable to consummate their marriage
because of a bizarre and cruel sexual attack which took place when she
was a young girl. Why doesn't she tell Herbie? Would it have helped?
How do you judge Herbie for seeking sexual gratification from other
women? Was there anything Herbie might have done that could have helped
Noon overcome her apprehensions? At the close of the novel, Noon is
able to consummate her marriage. What finally enables her to do so?
- Though Ethel
is seldom in South Philadelphia living among the other characters of
Tumbling, her presence is felt and a strong, vivid portrait of
her emerges. Describe this portrait. How does McKinney-Whetstone create
and maintain Ethel's presence throughout the novel? How does Ethel become
a central figure in Tumbling despite her near constant absence? Discuss
her profound impact on the lives of Noon, Herbie, Liz, and Fannie.
- How does McKinney-Whetstone
prepare us for the truth that Ethel is Fannie's mother and Herbie is
her father? What clues does she provide?
- Fannie is blessed
with a seeing eye -- a "part of her that could see around corners and
sometimes into tomorrow." Do her visions have an effect on the other
characters? Do they alter any characters' lives? Do her visions alter
events? If so, what events? How does Fannie distinguish between her
seeing eye and her imagination?
- Liz develops
an unusual habit of breaking up and actually eating the walls in her
closet. The habit begins when she lives with Ethel and continues after
she moves in with Noon, Herbie, and Fannie. Her habit grows over the
years, and she becomes more and more devoted to hiding it. Why do you
think she eats plaster? What does it symbolize? How does she use this
habit as a crutch?
- McKinney-Whetstone
does not focus on the subject of racism, yet it is a presence in Tumbling.
For example, when the court officer comes to Noon's house to deliver
a notice, McKinneyWhetstone writes, "He muttered 'fucking nigger' and
pushed past her and was out of the door. 'Got some nerve calling somebody
a nigger,' Noon said to his back as she quickly scanned the papers.
'You that, plus a fool....... Where else do we feel the presence of
racism in the novel? How does the imminent building of the road become
another example of racism? Is there any evidence of compassion between
the races?
- What does the
building of the road represent in Tumbling? What does it represent
to the characters -- to Noon, to Next-Door-Jeanie, to Willie, to Liz
and Fannie? Of what larger metaphor might the road be representative?
How does the road serve to galvanize and heighten the relationships
in Noon and Herbie's family as well as in the community? It turns out
that the road is a fraud. What lies beneath this deception? And since
the road becomes the central crisis in the novel, the fact that it is
a deception casts the story in a new light. What is this new light?
- Secrets play an important role in Tumbling. Almost everyone has one-Noon, Herbie, Willie, Ethel, Liz, Fannie, and Reverend Schell. What are their secrets and what effect does keeping them have on their relationships to one another? By the end of the novel are all the secrets revealed? How are the characters' relationships altered by the revelation of secrets? What effect do secrets have on a family?
Copyright (c) 1996,1997,1998,1999 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.