Hieroglyphics (McCorkle) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for HIEROGLYPHICS … then take off on your own:

1. How have the tragedies in both Lil's and Frank's childhoods shaped their lives and their ideas about both life and death? How have their separate histories informed the adults they have become—Lil, for instance, wanting to be the mother for her children she never had?

2. How do Frank and Lil each face the prospect of death, which in their advanced ages, is not far off?

3. (Follow-up to Question 2) What role have Frank's academic pursuits had on his beliefs about death—how does he view death? How do you view death? Lil writes to her children: "Your father has lately pitched death like one of his adventurous trips or a romantic rendezvous." What does she mean?

4. What is Lil's purpose, or her desire, in writing down her reminiscences—what does she hope to accomplish? What do her journal entries reveal about her and her state of mind? Do you keep a journal? If so, why? Is it for you? Is it for posterity?

5. What do you make of Shelley? Why is she so wary of Frank and his desire to visit his old home?

m. Shelley "learned early that she was treated best when not noticed … no one wants what the average or below-average person has, and so they leave you alone, and sometimes being left alone seems the best choice." What does this passage actually mean, and what does it reveal about Shelley. Do you agree with her: being "left alone seems the best choice"?

6. Discuss how the murder trial is woven into this story.

7. Do you find the ending of the novel uplifting or depressing? Ultimately, how would you define the novel's conclusion about what is essential when it comes to living life … and facing death?

8. What are hieroglyphics, and why might Jill McCorkle have chosen the term as the title of her novel?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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