Milkman

At one point, middle sister admits that her descriptions of ma are colored by her own sense (at least at the time) of her mother as a caricature. Are there other instances when middle sister is an unreliable narrator? What do those instances tell us about her and/or the novel’s themes?

Middle sister often uses militaristic terms (“infiltrate,” “rebel,” “foray,” etc.) to describe everyday interactions, feelings, etc. How does this contribute to the novel’s overall meaning?

Middle sister mentions several of the books she reads by title. Why might Burns have chosen these particular titles, and how do they reflect the broader significance of middle sister’s reading habit?

Discuss the significance of the supercharger. How does the subplot surrounding it contribute to the novel?

Describe third brother-in-law. Why might Burns choose to end the novel with him?

The way in which middle sister refers to milkman changes over the course of the novel, ranging from “milkman,” to “the milkman,” to “Milkman.” What is the significance of his name, as well as of the ambiguity surrounding it?

What does middle sister mean when she talks about “inner contraries,” “ambivalences,” etc.? How does the political climate in which she lives facilitate them?

Of the issue women, middle sister says: “The word ‘feminist’ was beyond-the-pale. The word ‘woman’ barely escaped beyond-the-pale” (152). Discuss this in terms of the novel’s broader ideas about gender and language.