Leaving Atlanta

Each protagonist in the novel—Tasha, Rodney, and Octavia—represent different facets of Atlanta life and of the experience of the Atlanta Child Murders. What can the reader learn about issues regarding race, class, family, and the influence of media based on these three children’s experiences?

Corporal punishment, particularly as a mode of discipline meted out from fathers to sons, plays an important role in the novel’s plot development. Do you think that the author establishes an opinion on the subject? If so, what is Jones’s viewpoint? 

The children and their families make a point of noticing Monica Kaufman—the first African American woman to be a newscaster in Atlanta—every time she comes on television. Why is Kaufman’s presence on the television news important? Consider your response in relation to issues of colorism in the novel. Consider, too, that the Atlanta Child Murders occurred from 1979-1981—16 years after the legislative end of the Civil Rights Movement and in the aftermath of the Second Wave feminist movement.

How do the traumatic legacies of slavery, segregation, and racial terrorism inform how the parents in this novel interact with their children?

Jones hints at Uncle Kenny’s sexual abuse of Octavia, which Octavia forgives, particularly if it means she can reunite with her uncle. How does Jones’s presentation of sexual abuse from Octavia’s perspective complicate our understanding of how children may perceive this inappropriate behavior? Do you find Jones’s depiction problematic or improper? Why or why not?

The chapters that focus on Tasha Baxter and Rodney Green employ third-person omniscient voices, while Octavia Spencer narrates from a first-person perspective. Why do you think Jones makes this choice? Is Octavia’s voice more remarkable than that of the other children? Why or why not?

Jones creates three portraits of family life in the novel. Considering how stereotypes about black families persist (e.g., absentee fathers, unsupervised children), how does Jones’s multifaceted portrait of these families work to undermine these stereotypes? How does the strength of these families counteract the persistent mortal threat against Atlanta’s children during this time?

Why do you think Rodney gets into the car with the man who pretends to be a policeman? How does this action relate to his earlier fantasy about imagining the time before he was born?