NEW**
Questions Added!!!
Part One-- Drums of Autumn
"O
Brave New World"
Chapter 1-2
pp. 3-46 HC
1) After
learning that a drummer precedes the condemned to the gallows, discuss the
metaphor of the “drums” in the title, Drums
of Autumn.
2) From previous books we know Jamie to be an honorable man, but as we are
reintroduced to him in this volume, in how many ways is he portrayed as such?
3) How
does Jamie stand out of the crowd to help Gavin at the hanging scene by yelling
out in Gaelic?
4) What do you think of the "Tannasq" story?
5) Ian is growing up to be an interesting character.
In what ways is he like Jamie and in what ways is he different from
Jamie?
6) Will
saving Bonnet from the gallows be significant in the future?
Does Bonnet think he owes Jamie a dept?
Do we think he owes Jamie a debt?
7)
Do you think Jamie believes Claire about the indians and wild beasts?
Part Two-- Drums of Autumn
"Past
Imperfect"
Chapter 3-5
pp. 49-75 HC
1) It seems Brianna & Roger are having the
same problem as Jamie & Claire initially had in communicating how they
really feel about each other. Why is that??
2)
The author explains the juxtaposition of the Highland Games and the first moon
walk with Roger the historian looking to the past and Brianna the engineer
looking forward. Could this be a
conflict between Roger and Brianna throughout the story?
3)
When
Brianna sees Roger in full "Regalia" she answers her own question
"How could she"...
4)
Joe Abernathy recognizes the depth of feeling between
Brianna & Roger even more than they do and even gives his blessing .
How can he see what they can't?
Part Three-- Drums of Autumn
"Pirates"
Chapter 6-9
pp. 79-138 HC
Part Four-- Drums of Autumn
"River
Run"
Chapter 10-13
pp. 141-223 HC
1) In his letter from Scotland Ian remarks that he sees steel
in Jamie’s eyes since Culloden. Has
that steel softened since Claire’s return or will it always be there?
Is this what happens to soldiers universally when they have seen war?
Part Five-- Drums of Autumn
"Strawberry
Fields Forever"
Chapter 14-16
pp. 227-263 HC
Part Six-- Drums of Autumn
"Je
T'aime"
Chapter 17-18
pp. 267-289 HC
Part Seven-- Drums of Autumn
"On
the Mountain"
Chapter 19-29
pp. 293-444 HC
After being lost in the woods during the storm Claire
doesn’t want to be put into bed until she is clean so as not to dirty the
sheets! Would an eighteenth century
woman have felt this way because of the effort involved in laundering linens, or
is this trait universal among women? Do
men think like this?
Drums
of Autumn, part seven -
"On the Mountain"
Chapter
19 - "Hearth Blessing"
1. Claire would soon be fifty-two years old in the fall of 1767. How does she
feel about facing the winter in primitive conditions?
2. Why doesn't Jamie want to spend the winter at River Run?
3. How does Jocasta show that she either forgives Jamie for rejecting her offer
to make him her heir, or still hopes he will relent after a winter in the wild?
4. Why does Jamie perform the pagan ritual of the hearth?
Chapter 20 - "The White Raven"
5. Why does Jamie feel that they need to "dress up" when they see
the Indians coming?
6. What does Claire mean by the remark, "The return of Squanto"?
7. In what ways do we see that Claire and Nacognaweto's grandmother think alike?
Chapter 21 - "Night on a Snowy Mountain"
8. What are some of the ways that we can see that Claire has adapted to the
crude way of life in the cabin?
9. When Jamie and Claire are wondering if Brianna might look for them in
history, what could they do to make it easier for her to do so?
10. Does Jamie, at this point, seem jealous of the fact that Brianna is
following Frank Randall's interest in history?
11. What was the greatest danger to Jamie if Claire had not found
him?
12. How was their situation similar to the one in Claire's memory of Frank and
Brianna? Different?
13. Why was a priest with the Mohawks?
14. Where have we met Clarence the mule before?
Chapter 22 - "Spark of an Ancient Flame"
15. Why is Roger not going to tell Brianna about the news of her parents' death
in 1776?
16. Why is Roger so sure you cannot change the past?
Chapter 23 - "The Skull Beneath the Skin"
17. Do you think the spector with the light has anything to do with the skull?
18. What is probably the cause of Claire's bad dreams?
19. Does she think the spector is a dream?
20. How did Rollo know where to find her?
21. How did Judas get his name?
22. What conclusions do Jamie and Claire arrive at concerning the skull?
Chapter 24 - "Letter-Writing: The Great Art O'Love"
23. Does Brianna seem as much in love as Roger?
Chapter 25 -
"Enter A Serpent"
24. Do you suppose the sow in the pantry is the little pink pig they started
with?
25. Why did Claire perform a ritual over the Indian, knowing he was dying?
26. What problems did Claire already have when she met the boy?
27. How did she know who he was, despite the fact that he should be far away in
England?
28. Do Ian's prolonged announcements leave you amused or aggravated?
29. How does John Grey show that he has a sense of humor?
30. When does Ian make the connection between Jamie and Willie?
Chapter 26 - "Plague and Pestilence"
31. Of what is Claire most jealous?
32. What was Frank's revenge?
Chapter 27 - "Trout Fishing in America"
33. Why does Jamie call Willie "my lord" after having hit, shaken and
threatened him the day before?
34. What will Jamie probably do with Willie if John Grey dies?
Chapter
28 - "Heated Conversation"
35. Were you surprised to find that Highland boys were taught to knit? Why
were they?
36. When John Grey called Claire "straightforward" and she said,
"I was born that way", John said, "So was I." Do
you think he was referring to his homosexuality or that he meant that he
was born straightforward?
37. Do you think John Grey loves Willie for himself or because he is Jamie's
son?
38. What might be the eventual consequences of Mueller's revenge?
39. How do we know that he probably killed old Nayawenne?
40. Now that we know that Mueller did not attack a village, but killed three
helpless women in the forest, what should be done about it?
Part Eight-- Drums of Autumn
"Beaucoup"
Chapter 30-39
pp. 447-541 HC
Part Nine-- Drums of Autumn
"Passionnément"
Chapter 40-41
pp. 545-593 HC
Part Ten-- Drums of Autumn
"Impaired
Relations"
Chapter 42-50
pp. 597-699 HC
1) Which scenes are more vividly real to you, the long awaited
meeting of Jamie and Brianna, their intimate talks, or their heated arguments?
2)
Jamie finally speaks of the battle at Culloden and of what he remembers of Jack
Randall there. Do you think Jamie
killed him? Is Jamie’s
forgiveness of Randall surprising to you, or is it time for forgiveness?
3)
Jamie, Brianna, and Roger have all forgiven their respective enemies.
Have they found peace as a result?
Part Eleven-- Drums of Autumn
"Pas
Du Tout"
Chapter 51-62
pp. 703-823 HC
Part Twelve-- Drums of Autumn
"Je
T'Aime"
Chapter 63-71
pp. 829-880 HC
1)
SPOILER – There must be a dozen references to ghosts both literally and
metaphorically in Drums of Autumn. Why?
Is Frank Randall with them ever since his death, or does his spirit
appear to Jamie only at the Gathering?
General
Study Questions For Drums of Autumn
- Are
the slavery issues handled as you think they should?
From Claire’s perspective? From
Jamie’s perspective?
- We
know Roger to be a historian from the twentieth century.
Does Roger need to experience the hardships, cruelty and other
misfortunes as he arrived in the eighteenth century in order to shape his
character, to toughen him up?
- SPOILER
– DG leaves us no unresolved loose ends without reason.
Small incidents sometimes lead to future story lines.
What loose ends remain to be resolved, and which incidents would be
interesting to explore and to expand in later books?
- Disfunctional
families, actions based on assumptions, rape, revenge, abortion, survival,
parenting, and forgiveness are some of the issues raised throughout the
story. How do the eighteenth
century views on these issues differ from those of the twentieth century?
- In
the New World in what ways is Claire’s knowledge of the future an asset?
Is this knowledge ever a liability?
- In
what ways is Brianna like her mother? In
what ways is she like Jamie?
- Can
any of the second generation of characters measure up to Jamie?
Roger? Ian? Fergus? Others?
Many thanks to syurkanin@... for her help in developing these study questions
for Dragonfly in Amber... Also, jbuik@...Thank you so much for giving me something to post here!
