The Secret Chord

Brooks creates a picture of a very patriarchal society. How is that patriarchy reinforced? Are there ways in which it is challenged? Is her portrayal tied to this particular historical setting or does she believe it is a more universal problem?

Multiple characters such as David and Yoav make public shows of repentance. Pick two such instances and analyze them. How does Brooks use them to explore the theme of The Patriarchal Abuse of Power or to develop her characters?

Analyze two or more survivors of rape. What options does Brooks suggest they have as they deal with the trauma? In what ways does patriarchy still restrain them? Why does Brooks have each survivor react in different ways?

Brooks makes frequent use of flashbacks and embedded narrative within a narrative during the first half of the book. How does their inclusion affect the pacing of the story and character development?

The Secret Chord is advertised as the story of David, yet in the second half of the book it is David’s sons and Natan who initiate the majority of the action. In what ways does David remain the protagonist? In what ways has he been replaced? As David moves into the background, what characters and themes are allowed space in the foreground?

Yonatan and David’s love affair is almost the only one not described directly by either of the participants. The descriptions come instead from people outside the relationship like Mikhal, Shammah, and Natan. Why does Brooks choose not to give the reader a first-person insight into that romantic relationship with the important exception of the “Song of the Bow”?

Analyze the use of music in Brooks’s characterization of David. How does she use this motif to explore the complexity of David and create his character arc?

Brooks frequently uses Natan’s prophetic visions of the future to create narrative foreshadowing. Analyze how this literary strategy shapes the characterization of Natan as he struggles with knowing a future that he may not be able to change.