46 pages • 1 hour read
Mary Rand Hess, Kwame AlexanderSwing
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
In what ways are the form and structure of Swing—a novel in verse—appropriate for a novel which explores jazz music?
In what ways is Walt’s nickname “Swing” appropriate? What does his self-naming say about him and his role in the novel?
Discuss how the verse titles provide important context or framing for the poems that follow. How do these alter your expectations and understanding?
Discuss the role of the American flags. What is the effect of the mystery that surrounds them?
The poem on page 203 is entitled “BLACK LIVES MATTER!” This is the only direct refence to this social movement. In what ways are race relations and racial identity important to the novel, and why might the authors have chosen to address these topics indirectly rather than explicitly?
What presence do adult characters have in the novel? What is the significance of that?
Walt/Swing gets a tattoo bearing the phrase “hug life,” a play on “thug life.” What does the “hug life” look like to Walt/Swing, and how does Walt/Swing enact this way of living?
Jazz is regarded as a uniquely African American form of art and an important expression of freedom. In what ways does the novel use jazz to explore themes such as race relations, freedom, individuality, and the group?
In an interview, Kwame Alexander explains the role of baseball in the novel by saying, “Baseball is that all American sport. It represents so much metaphorically and historically” (“Q&A with Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.” We Need Diverse Books, 2018). Discuss the significance of baseball in the novel in light of this comment.
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