The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

The novel is structured as a series of chronological snapshots that provide brief glimpses into the lives of Hattie’s children. As each child’s story is largely contained within one chapter that unfolds over just hours or days, very little is disclosed about what happens to the character afterward. Why might Mathis have chosen this structure, and how does it relate to the novel’s exploration of identity as irreducible to social categories or stereotypes?

Both Hattie and August left the South to live in Philadelphia during a time when significant numbers of African Americans were moving to northern urban areas. The Great Migration, which occurred between 1916 and 1970, was largely inspired by the promise of better economic opportunities and more racial equality in the North. Discuss Hattie’s experiences in the North with respect to this promise, as well as August’s. How do gender and personal history shape their individual appraisals of the North as a “promised land”?

Hattie accuses August of numerous failings, including his inability to earn a respectable income, his penchant for “juke joints” and easy women, and his self-indulgent spending habits. Consider August’s point of view, articulated in Chapter 4 and elsewhere. He blames his shortcomings on Hattie’s relentless anger toward him and on systemic challenges to black economic advancement.