Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide
June 2005
Occasions of Sin
Sandra Scofield
Scofield's account of her childhood and teenage years will ring familiar with many readers. Although the book is framed by a specific time (the 1950s and '60s) and place (West Texas), its themes of wanting to be a perfect daughter, of trying to grasp the concepts of religion and God as a child...
- Comment on the sequencing of events in the book. How did the description of the nude photographs in the first chapter effect the relaying of Sandra's childhood?
- Edith seemed to feel different from others in her family, and she always wanted "more". What kind of "notions" set Edith apart from the hardworking poor in her family and culture? How did these "notions" contribute to the conflict between Sandra's mother and grandmother? This caused Sandra to write "I went from mother to grandmother as if I carried two passports."
- Describe the dynamics of Edith's and Sandra's relationship. Do you feel that Sandra was frequently more companion than daughter? Why did Sandra feel responsible for Edith's health? How did Edith 's influence keep Sandra from being confined to the West Texas culture of the 1950's?
- Years after Edith's death Sandra Commented: "you spend years navigating what amounts to chaos, without any reliable compass". What are some of the ways this loss defined Sandra's life?
- How were Sandra's experiences in boarding school both positive and negative? How did the innocence of the 1950's conflict with Edith's sexual behavior? After leaving boarding shcool Sandra wrote, "I was learning that men are occasions of sin. Even boys are dangerous, because the morals of girls are fragile, like the shells of baby birds."
- What are Sandra's strengths as a writer? Why do you think it took forty years for Sandra to write this memoir of her early life?
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