Milkman includes multiple digressions in which middle sister describes events that took place in the past (for instance, the “canicide” of the community’s dogs). Choose one of these anecdotes and explain its function in the novel as a whole.

At one point, middle sister admits that her descriptions of ma are colored by her own sense (at least at the time) of her mother as a caricature. Are there other instances when middle sister is an unreliable narrator? What do those instances tell us about her and/or the novel’s themes?

Middle sister often uses militaristic terms (“infiltrate,” “rebel,” “foray,” etc.) to describe everyday interactions, feelings, etc. How does this contribute to the novel’s overall meaning?