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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What theme runs through 'Brothers and Keepers'?

2. How does John characterize the difference between his mother and father?

3. When does Robby show up in Laramie?

4. How did John's mother know that Robby was getting high?

5. What does John say is an inmate's worst enemy?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does John characterize the drive to the penitentiary?

2. Describe Robby's entrance into drugs and crime.

3. What kind of blackness was expected of John in college?

4. What happened to Robby that he was wanted by the police?

5. Where does John say Robby has a place in Jamila's life?

6. How does John characterize the waiting room?

7. What happened after Robby's arrest?

8. How does John treat the prisoners?

9. How does John say he and his family act after visiting the prison?

10. How does John characterize the prisoners?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is John's relationship with his blackness? When does he feel most black? When does he feel least black? What does his experience tell us about being black in America? How is his relationship with his blackness different from Robby's?

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of the women in "Brothers and Keepers", and how would the action and ideas in the book be portrayed differently if they were described from a woman's perspective? How would John's mother, or Judy, or Tanya, tell this story? How does John include their point of view?

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate your own reading of "Brothers and Keepers"--did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

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