40 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah VowellLafayette in the Somewhat United States
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Describe the role that patriotism plays in the book.
Did you find Lafayette’s experience a useful subject for an examination of modern American values? Why or why not?
How did you feel about Lafayette’s decision to abandon his family and his justifications for doing so?
What does Vowell mean when she says Lafayette is one of the few things upon which Americans have been able to agree?
Were you aware that France’s navy was so critical in helping America win the war? Why do you think so little is made of this fact during days and times celebrating America’s independence?
Did you find Vowell’s framing device of visiting historical landmarks devoted to Lafayette effective? Discuss.
Do you believe that Vowell’s story gives an adequate explanation of why Lafayette was so beloved and celebrated during his return to America in 1824?
Why was Lafayette so supportive of the American Revolution?
Why was Lafayette able to win influence with men as powerful and aloof as George Washington?
Vowell writes that, had America remained part of the British Empire, slavery would have been abolished 30 years earlier than the Emancipation Proclamation. In your view, would that have been a better outcome than America winning its independence? Why or why not?
