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A primary symptom of Stockholm Syndrome indicates that the victim learns to cooperate and obey their captor, to the point of appearing to cooperate, support, and even protect their own tormentor. Do you think that Sanford became emotionally attached to his uncle?
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When Sanford swallowed the notion of his own complicity and guilt in his uncle’s crimes, was that a form of emotional attachment?
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Why do you think Sanford didn’t try harder to leave the ranch? Can you recall specific ways in which his perceptions made him a prisoner?
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By Chapter Eight of the book, Sanford is starting to treat his uncle differently; he begins to talk back a little bit and even dares to hint that Uncle Stewart should let the Winslow brothers, Lewis and Nelson go free. Is their relationship different at this point?
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What do you think happened to Sanford, right before he made the decision to kill Lewis? How did his attitude change in the aftermath?
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When a captive boy asks Sanford if he is also “stuck” there on the ranch, Sanford is stuck for an answer. How do you think he views himself in comparison to the other captive boys?
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Do you think that Jesse was right in not immediately fleeing the ranch and running to the local police the moment that she heard Sanford’s terrible story?
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Do you think that “Uncle” Stewart Northcott and his parents had a change of heart in deciding to leave Sanford behind when they fled? Was it perverted family loyalty?
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How do you think the general public viewed Sanford’s role in this case when the word first began to spread? How do you think they would have looked at it if not for the intervention of Loyal Kelly?
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If you were in Sanford’s position, would you have been able to forgive your father for not standing up to Winnie or for not trying harder to protect you? Would you have wanted him to still be a part of your life after the murders?
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In Chapter Nine, Sanford passively refuses his uncle’s demands to help him kill the Dahl family. Where did he get the strength to say no? What made this occasion different from all the others?
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Many years after Sanford’s rescue, do you think it was wise of him to tell his son Jerry about his tragic past? Would you have told your child if you were in Sanford’s position?
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It is clear in the beginning of the book that Sanford’s mother, Winnie, doesn’t pay him much regard. Do you think she would gotten involved in rescuing him if she had somehow found out what was going on at the chicken ranch?
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When you consider all of Sanford’s actions on the chicken ranch, did he deserve his life-long burden of guilt? Was he right to embrace it?
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Today’s public awareness of sensational criminal cases makes it clear that encounters with evil as severe as Sanford’s can happen anywhere, at any time. No one has discovered a way to predict when or where it will happen. Would you have been able to pull yourself out of that hell?