Essay Questions

What does the ship represent?

On the so-called generational ship at the heart of An Unkindness of Ghosts, people with dark skin are relegated to the lower decks of the ship and live in squaller. People with light-colored skin, on the other hand, live in luxury on the upper levels of the ship. The ship is a powerful symbol of systemic racism; its structure parallels the way many black people had to live in the United States from the country's founding through the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s when everything in the U.S. was desegregated. And while racism still existed in the U.S. after the Civil Rights Act, legalized discrimination, racism, and segregation (all three of which were a direct result of the ship's structure) were made illegal.

Who is the Sovereign? What is his role on the ship?

The Sovereign is the leader of the ship and more generally, the light-skinned people in the novel who live on the upper decks. He is a racist, cruel, and evil man capable and frequently willing to harm those less fortunate than him. Although he shouldn't have much contact with people on the lower decks, the Sovereign was deeply connected with Aster and her family - especially her mother, whose suicide he played a part in.

How does the civil war portrayed in the novel parallel with the United States Civil War?

There is quite a bit of parallelism between the civil war portrayed in the novel with the United States Civil War in the 1800s. Like the U.S. Civil War, the war on the ship was precipitated by racism and by indentured servitude/slavery. Fed up with being treated poorly, black people on the ship started a civil war to remedy the mistreatment; both white and black people wanted to change racist behavior and attitudes within the U.S. and started a civil war.

In essence, both civil wars started because of racism. They were fought because of racism and indentured servitude/slavery. And both wars involved people who wanted to help change come to the places they lived.