Many residents of Liberty brand Ruby with the jezebel stereotype. Research other racist tropes associated with Black women, including the Sapphire and Mammy caricatures. Are any of the novel’s other Black female characters typecast by their communities as one of these stereotypes? How does it affect their lives?

Despite both experiencing early childhood sexual abuse, Omar Jennings and Ruby Bell turn into starkly different adults and function as foils for each other. What factors of experience, circumstance, and identity account for their different outcomes? How are the standards for men in Liberty different than those placed on women?

How does Bond portray folk spiritualism in Ruby? What qualities does it share with Christianity, and where do the practices differ?