DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
FOR
THE PIECE OF THE MOON
BY CHRIS
FABRY
Think back to the beginning of the book. There was one verse and two quotes
given. Better is little with the fear
of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Proverbs 15:16 Everyone is a moon and has
a dark side which he never shows to anybody. Mark Twain All good songs leak from a
broken heart. Mack Strum Reading them
now, what are your thoughts on how they pertain to the story. Compare your understandings before and after
you read the story – or did they not change at all?
The very first sentence in the Prologue states; “Love,
like treasure, stays buried until somebody decides to dig.” The prologue proceeds to describe Gideon’s experience
with hearing from the Lord and delves further into his vision and how he
carries out his mission. At the end of
the Prologue, the last sentence questions the reader; “Whether he actually
heard from the Lord, I’ll let you decide.”
Here is your opportunity…. Do you think Gideon was carrying
out God’s plan?
p. 2 Gideon acknowledged that despite his confusion on what
the Lord was telling him, he was able to focus on something other than his
wife’s death. Share if you can identify
with taking up another focus. Would
you describe Gideon’s mission a healthy preoccupation?
p. 3, 23, 114, 212 “For what shall it profit a man, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36. Gideon included
biblical clues for eternal life. His
theme was “true treasure”. Describe
this true treasure Gideon referred to.
p. 3-4, 313 The hiding of the ark. Luke 24, Acts of the Apostles, Ch. 2. Hints were given in the beginning of the
book, but not so apparent until the end of the story was revealed. What sort of premonitions regarding the hunt
for the treasure, did you solve on your own prior to the end?
p. 11 Robby, the pastor, says to himself, “The treasure
wouldn’t sway his heart towards temporal things.” But, then later states, “Blessed
are the pure in heart.” Was
Robbie being true to himself? Discuss how easily one could fool himself
into justifying something wrong. P. 56 In
Robbie’s box of research TD finds a clipping of Gideon being interviewed.
Gideon describes two treasures. One
being in the Bible that lasts for eternity and then the temporal treasure that
he advises can be found “in a place where it all began.” Do you
remember what he meant by this? Ephra is what TD speculated that Gideon
meant, which ultimately his speculations led him to finding Robbie. But where was the place “where it all
began”? (p. 164)
p. 12 Robbie
experiences fear and quotes to himself about the verse in Romans about doubt; "everything
that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:22-23 ). Robbie probably had regrets at the point when
he fell. What would you have advised
Robbie prior to him descending the rock wall? p. 199 Robbie gained a new
philosophy; “Don’t wear yourself out to get rich.” Compare this new philosophy to his old
one.
p. 15 When referring to the various employees of Country 16,
Waite thought; “…everybody deserved a second chance.”. p. 260 and then again on page 341, Clay
pleads to Emily, Waite’s daughter to give her daddy a second chance. Clay
quotes Waite in a letter to Emily, “…the closest we ever get to loving others
like God loved us is when we give somebody a second chance to hurt us. Discuss times in the book where this quote
could be applied. Discuss the
possibility of “second chances” being the theme of the book.
p. 16-17, 263, 341 A Piece of the Moon – This song stuck to
the wall of Waite’s heart. All my
life I’ve waited for you. All my dreams
are yours. (p. 341 Clay writes to Emily
telling her he thought this is what her daddy wants to say to her.) p. 346
Clay glances at the frame on Waite’s desk and comments; “Waiting’s hard,
isn’t it?” Discuss the theme of
“waiting” in the story.
MOON:
p. 122, 126, In a story, a
character, an action, an object, or an animal can be symbolic. Often these
symbols stand for something abstract, like a force of nature, a condition of
the world, or an idea. The “moon”, an
object held within the title, was also used as a symbol within the story. Talk about what the moon might’ve
represented or symbolized. What moon
details were included that provided interesting material?
p. 16 Waite gives thought about
the moon and how it never seemed to have the problem of having to work hard to
get where it was going. “The moon
moved on a whim and chose between full or half or quarter whenever it felt like
it, or so it seemed.”
p. 187 TD to Pidge: “Is that
the piece of the moon? If I figure this out, you’ll move ahead?”
p. 242 Emily leaves with a
singer that came through town, Mack Strum
p. 264 Mack Strum explains
the meaning of his song, A Piece of the Moon.
CLUES:
p. 23, 155 Psalm 137:2 - We
hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
p. 35 Matt – For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also.
p. 52 Riches make themselves
wings and fly away like an eagle.
p. 56” …a place where it all
began.”
p. 273 “This is the final
clue about the treasure. Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the
wicked are cruel.” At this point
Milton freaks out and exits to go after the dog. However, prior to this knowledge of the hint,
he expresses interest in the dog earlier in the story, and then quickly changes
his mind over the dog having fleas. When
he originally confronts TD and Pidge, he insists he wants the dog, no argument.
(p. 189) What could’ve been his original motive in obtaining his dad’s dog?
p. 115 “Acid Reflux” is
mentioned in a conversation that Gideon had with Milton his son. It’s mentioned again when Milton called
Robbie and again during Franklin’s interview with TD. On page 164, TD explains to Pidge how “acid
reflux” is a relevant clue; his findings reveal the place “where it all began”. Discuss how you felt about these “clues”
revealed in the story. Was their
existence truly substantial? Were they
noteworthy, frustrating, etc. to you?
Pidge refers to her parents: “They were yoked like two
horses to a plow, and they moved through life pulling something neither could
see…” p. 33 Pidge agreed with Waite
Evers regarding his belief that everybody was broken on the inside and that
most people tried to hide the cracks and move on like nothing happened. Discuss how this is an ineffective
approach to living life. P.
304 After Pidge and TD kissed, Pidge felt as if “something like moonbeams
were shooting out of her heart”. She
was “glad for the broken parts that let the feelings leak out like a sieve”.
p. 124, 126 Pidge and TD had a lot of baggage. Pidge described this as; “towing a lot of
hurt bigger than what we can pull.” Talk
about this “hurt and baggage” she was referring to.
p. 35 Gideon believed all the good and bad in life was a
gift because God was working out His plan in his own way in His own time. P. 112 God further revealed to Gideon that
His ways are not our ways. How might this comprehension be applied to the
people of Emmaus?
p. 149 TD wrestles with the theory of “everything happens
for a reason”. He asks Waite; “A deer
jumping in front of Quidley – is that part of the plan? Or is it a coincidence? (p. 254) TD’s past held a lot of self-guilt. He blamed himself for a long time that he
didn’t have enough faith that his brother would be healed. (p. 198) Robbie has
stated to TD that what happened to your family was God’s will. TD took this particularly hard. Do you think he took this too sensitively? (p.
268) During the confrontation with his father, did TD opinion on how everything
happens for a reason soften?
The Kid was introduced to Waite as a kid with a past. Compare how you’d handle this troubled teen
to how Waite handled him. (p. 178) “A
blade can be used for good and evil.” Waite gives The Kid a blade to edit
and splice audio tape. Is this
responsibility something you would’ve considered giving to him? How might have this single act, effectively
help Clay?
(p. 186) Pidge: “All the money in the world’s not worth a
hill of beans if you’re not willing to see the truth about yourself.” Later,
Pidge tells TD “Something’s holding you back.”
Discuss how something from our past can influence our present
days.
p. 45 Milton Quidley was the antagonist of the story. Examine how he provided contrast,
exhibited suspense, and how his opposition might’ve contributed to the book. P. 60
Waite believed he was just scared. What
do you think Milton feared? On page 170, the author writes, “That which is
foreign is often feared, especially when it comes to prayer.” Would this analogy be able to be applied
to the character, Milton Quidley?
p. 207 Milton “pulled the plug” on his father. What do you think the author was trying to
achieve by removing Gideon’s voice from the story at this point?
p. 67, 68 Waite was a man of wisdom, was full of good
advice. Were there any words of
wisdom from Waite’s character that resonated with you? Examples of his advice include.
p. 66 “Don’t go changing
Ardelle. You’re good the way you are.”
p. 68 “All who wrestled in
the mud got dirty. He’d learned that the
hard way. He’d also learned that some people had the spiritual gift of
discouragement. Wisdom said it was best
not to indulge them.”
p. 82 “From my experience,
whatever doesn’t kill you will back up and try again.”
p. 170 “…that all most people
needed was a little encouragement and about half as much criticism in order to
succeed.”
p. 343 “sometimes people get
themselves in situations they can’t see a way out of…”
p. 123, 308, 310, 311, 315, 319, 327-8 After much talk in
the book about the “treasure”, what ideas crossed your mind in how might the
treasure would be best used? Any premonitions
on how the townspeople might end up using it?
What would you do with a million dollars? Discuss the finding of the
treasure. Were you satisfied with who
found the treasure and how it was used?
p. 217 The news of Gideon’s death sparks a massive treasure hunt;
TD watched the slow unraveling of civility within his town. What do you suppose instigates this sort
of unraveling amongst people especially when it comes to material wealth?
p. 233, 237. 239 Cody was hired as a new employee and his
true character is revealed to Pidge and Clay.
Why role does Cody’s character play within the story? What importance did he contribute?
p. 241 Waite comments to Clay while fishing that “this is
how a Sunday afternoon is supposed to feel like.” What is a Sunday afternoon supposed to
feel like?
p. 241 While fishing, Waite comments to Clay that he’d trade
all of Gideon’s treasure to see Emily and make things right again. Waite makes note that Clay listens
intently. It struck him that one of the
most powerful thing one can do is just listen.
It also occurred to him that from all the wisdom he used to impact
others, he needed that wisdom just as much as they did. p. 20 Waite: “Sometimes love is less about
what you say and more about what you don’t.
He’d learned that lesson the hard way.”
Considering these examples given, what did you take out of this
part of the story? What did you assume
was Waite’s flaw(s)?
263-4 Waite listens to an old interview Possom does with
Mack Strum. Strum is asked “But why a
piece of the moon?” He later comments,” “I think it’s a symbol for something
you want so bad but feels just out of reach…”
During the interview Strum also reveals that the song wasn’t just about
helping by giving somebody something that they didn’t have, but that people
need each other more than anything. Comments?
Talk about Mack Strum. What sort of
person do you think he is? Did Waite
find forgiveness towards him? After the
reunion with Emily and the meeting of his grandchildren, do you believe he
could listen to Mack Strums song again?
Do you believe his grandchildren were the children of Mack Strums?
p. 351 Waite reflected and made note that in country music
there was a fair amount of revenge, bitterness, and regret, but not a lot of
forgiveness. He thought that maybe was
the difference between country and gospel.
What do you think?
