Sounder (1972) - G

Named for the family dog whose life is not terribly different from the family at the heart of the story, Sounder is a touching movie with very strong performances from Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield. They play sharecroppers in Louisiana in the midst of the Great Depression whose family is full of love but working essentially as indentured slaves. The family faces a serious crisis when the husband and father, Nathan Lee Morgan, is convicted of a petty crime and sent to a prison camp. After he's been absent for a while, the wife and mother, Rebecca Morgan, sends the oldest son, who is about 11 years old, to visit his father at the camp. The trip becomes the boy's odyssey and a dedicated African American schoolteacher influences him along the way.

Questions for reflections and/or discussion:

• The title refers to the Morgan's dog. What do you think the title means?
  
  
• At home, David Lee is unable to go to school, and then when he gets in Ms. Boatwright's class, he is excited to be there. Some students don't like being in school. Do you think they would feel differently if going to school were a special occasion - that normally they couldn't go to school?
  
  
• This movie is based on a book. Do you think it would be a good book to read?