At Bonaventure’s birth, “The world he’d known had vanished. Been swallowed up whole by harsh light and shocking coldness and a terrible, hurtful, clamoring dissonance.”

 - On the surface, this passage describes the reality of the hospital delivery room; what might it be describing on a deeper level?

 - I f you’ve given birth yourself, what was the environment like? How did it affect you?

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 Along with his mother’s heartbeat, blood flow and breathing, the infant Bonaventure can hear a bluesy trumpet and the shuffling of tarot cards.

 - What might those things signify? In what ways is Bonaventure’s rarified hearing a double-edged sword?

 

 He can also hear echoes of footsteps made by the Acolapissa.

 - Who were the Acolapissa and how is Bonaventure like them?

 

The fog rolling over Saint Anthony’s Garden is yet another sound that comes to baby Bonaventure. Saint Anthony is popularly known as the saint of lost things.

 - What have some of the characters lost?

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As a fetus in his mother's womb, Bonaventure can hear her heartbeat, blood flow and breathing. He can also hear a bluesy trumpet and the shuffling of tarot cards.

 - What might those things signify? In what ways is Bonaventure's rarified hearing a double-edged sword?

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The fog rolling over Saint Anthony's Garden is yet another sound that comes to baby Bonaventure. Saint Anthony is popularly known as the saint of lost things.

 - What have some of the characters lost?

 

Bonaventure, too, was named for a saint.

 - How does his name reflect his character and his destiny? (Hint: St. Bonaventure was a mystic)

 

How do Dancy, Letice, Eugenia Babbitt, and The Wanderer anesthetize themselves from emotional pain?

 

Herbal medicine is sometimes considered alternative "New Age" therapy, but in reality, its use goes back thousands of years.

 - What do the speckled stone and Trinidad's simples have in common? Did anyone in your family ever use a home remedy? If so, what was it and did it work? Do you use them?

 

The role of faith and religion in the novel.

 - How do Letice and Trinidad express their spirituality? In what ways are they alike in their beliefs? In what ways are they different?

 - What role does social/economic class play in the story?

 - How does class adversely affect the characters, most notably, Suville, Calypso, and even Letice?

 

Personalities contain different proclivities and emotions. In associating the characters in this story with common personality traits, Grandma Roman might represent jealousy.

 - Which traits might other characters represent?

 - How does Gabe's love for Dancy compare to William's love for her?

 - What does each man provide for Bonaventure?

 - What impact does setting—the time and the place—have on the story?

 

Compare and contrast the four women in Bonaventure's life: his mother, his two grandmothers, and Trinidad 

 - What did the boy learn about life from each of them?

 

 What drew you to read The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow? What did you take away from the novel?

 

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THEMES

 

 - One of the themes in this book is that everything can be defined in relation to its opposite. Why is that? Discuss the following opposites:

                                                                   Silence & Sound (Bonaventure)

                                                                   Light & Dark (the stone)

                                                                   Healing & Harm (gris-gris and simples)

                                                                   Despair & Salvation (Letice)

                                                                   Guilt & Forgiveness (the Wanderer)

                                                                   Black & White (Trinidad and Grandma Roman)

                                                                   Holding on & letting go (William and Dancy)

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 - Another theme is isolation. How are some of the characters isolated from the world and/or from each other?

 

 - What does the sparrow represent in the story?

 

 - How do Dancy, Letice, Eugenia Babbitt, and The Wanderer anesthetize themselves from pain?

 

 - Herbal medicine is sometimes considered New Age-y, but in reality it goes back thousands of years. What do the speckled stone and Trinidad’s simples have in common?

Did your own mothers or grandmothers ever use a home remedy? If so, what was it and did it work? Do you use them?

 

 - How do Letice and Trinidad express their spirituality? In what ways are they alike in this? In what ways are they different?

 

 - Bayou Cymbaline is described as “…a municipal jambalaya—a slow-simmered stew with a hot, tangy flavor from the blending of mixed bloods and Caribbean spice.” Why could it also be described as a metaphorical house of God?

 

Name instances of irony in the story.

 

 - How does social class adversely affect Suville, Calypso, and even Letice?

 

 - Personalities contain different proclivities and emotions. In associating the characters in this story with common personality traits, Grandma Roman might represent jealousy. Which traits might other characters represent?

 

 - Did you have a favorite character? Who do you think is the most tragic character of all?

 

 - How does Gabe’s love for Dancy compare to William’s love for her?

 

 - What did you think of the ending?