Discussion Issues for Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow
- Consider how the conflicts in the novel are often governed by the tension between binary reasoning and Jesuitical casuistry. That is, some characters [Voelker, for example] see solutions to problems as resolved through a choice presented by binary absolutes. Voelker's Us vs. Them logic leads him to believe that the jesuits would better off if Sandoz were dead, a martyr, than alive and available for interrogation/public display. Casuistical reasoning is case-based. The context or circumstances governing an action dictate how we perceive the justness or validity of the action. To what extent does the conflict between simple binary and case-based reasoning govern the action and the statement of this novel?
- How do Anne and George Edwards function in the novel? While childless, they seem to have a stable, strong marriage, and they provide Emilio Sandoz with "the first real home he ever had" [38] and Sofia Mendes with the first sense of a home that she has had since the death of her parents and her being contracted to indentured servitude. To what extent is this novel about a search for family, home, community? How are Sandoz, Mendes, and Quinn in particular driven by these issues?
- How does Russell incorporate social criticism into the novel? Consider Sofia Mendes and her relationship with Jean Claude Jaubert [§8]. His selling her for a profit [116]. As you consider how social criticism functions in the novel, think about the casual details that provide an implicit picture of Earth culture in 2059.
- What is the specific nature of Sandoz's spiritual crisis? What specific events and tensions expose his crisis early in his experience, and how do these tensions extend into his experiences on Rakhat and back on Earth after his return? What specific conversations and details lay bare Russell's treatment of a crisis of conscience?
- One of the fundamental SF emphases is on the definition of humanity, especially as humanity is defined against the alien or the artificial. In what ways does Russell develop this theme through Sofia Mendes's job as a vulture and through her portrayal of the aliens on Rakhat?
- Consider the narrative structure of the novel: omniscient narration, breaks within chapters, non-linear presentation of events. How do Russell's choices impact our understanding of the events and the characters? Why does she begin after Sandoz's return, then move around in time from chapter to chapter as she carves story into plot? What might be her motive in structuring the narrative this way? What are the effects of her choices?