Same Kind Of Different As Me

Denver works for “the Man”as a sharecropper in Louisiana, while Ron’s grandfather is “the Man” at his farm in Texas. Compare and contrast Denver’s perception of how he’s treated with the way Ron sees his grandfather treating his field hands.

While Deborah and Ron are close during the early years of their marriage, they grow apart, to the degree Ron has an affair. What caused them to become distant, and what is it that brings them back together?

Deborah and Ron are both raised as Christians, yet it’s not until they are “born again” they both become truly spiritual people. What does it mean to be born again and how does this change the way they view the world and act in it?

At first, Ron feels like he is helping Denver by showing him all the things his life is missing. Quickly, however, he realizes Denver has more to teach him than he could have imagined. What does Denver teach Ron, and why does it have such an impact on him?

At the beginning of the chapter where Denver says Satan is coming for Deborah like a thief in the night, Ron tells the story of his biggest sale—the Calder sculpture—which he arranges to sell in secret and moves in the middle of the night to escape detection. What, if anything, does this tell us about who Ron is as a (business) person at this point in the story? How, if at all, has he changed by the end of the book?

When Deborah becomes sick, Denver insists God has a plan for her only He knows, and bad things happen to good people for the greater good. Do you agree with this rationale for explaining tragedy in the world? Why or why not?

Both Denver and Deborah have dreams containing messages from spiritual beings. (This contrasts with how dreams typically function in modern stories as a way of showing a character’s interior psychological state.) Do you believe spirits were communicating with them? Why or why not?

Denver says we all need a witness to stay honest. Is this true? Must we all be observed by someone else—be it another person or God—to do the right thing? Or do human beings have the capacity to do good all on their own?