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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. When Bride confesses the whole story about Sylvia Huxley, what does Brooklyn suggest?

2. How does Bride refer to Sylvia Huxley before she visits her?

3. How does Bride treat her pain?

4. How old was Lula Ann when she dropped her name and started to go by ‘Bride’?

5. What does Bride remember witnessing out her window as a child?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the relationship between Bride’s memory of her landlord and her memory of Sylvia Huxley?

2. What is Bride’s feeling about what she needs to do, to heal herself, and how does Brooklyn respond?

3. What caused Julie to try to kill herself?

4. Why does Sweetness say she treated Bride the way she did?

5. What does skin color mean in Sweetness’ family?

6. What does Sylvia Huxley say made Decagon better than Brookhaven?

7. What sensation does Booker’s shaving brush give Bride?

8. What does Lula Ann’s dark skin mean to her mother?

9. What effect does Bride’s testimony have on her relationship with her mother?

10. How does Sylvia Huxley describe her and Julie’s status among the prisoners at Decagon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate the ending God Help the Child. Does it ring true to you? Does it successfully resolve the problems and tensions that preceded it? What would you change, if anything? What are you left wishing for closure on, if anything?

Essay Topic 2

What is the meaning of the title of this book, and how is that meaning developed throughout the unfolding of the plot? What alternative titles would have expressed the contents of the book better than God Help the Child? Analyze the importance of the epigram, from Luke. In what ways are children coming to God throughout this novel?

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate God Help the Child as a book about race and prejudices surrounding skin color. What are its strengths and weaknesses as a book about this theme? Does the book advance an agenda? Does it not advance an agenda enough?

(see the answer keys)

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