Like William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and other Southern writers, Hannah explores violent and eccentric behaviors in the context of family and community. Consider these threads in Southern literature when discussing Hannah and his works.

1. "One could pity him for his dead fathers. But all of his folks have been dead since they were born." What does this statement portray about the past, particularly in relationship to Homer's description of Ronnie Foot?

2. How does Hannah's narrative structure cover storytelling?

3. How does this work compare or contrast with earlier or later works by Hannah?

4. If you have read works by Southern authors such as Faulkner, Welty, O'Conner, how are Hannah's works similar or dissimilar to these classic Southern authors?

5. Homer confesses a deep hatred of Harmon — the character who "likes to beat women, is cocky, conceited, prejudiced, and thinks he is a free power."

What do you...