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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 does Bride say that her ‘melting away’ starts?

2. How does Bride treat her pain?

3. Where do Sylvia Huxley and Julie work at the prison?

4. How does Sweetness say she intends to hold onto her dignity?

5. What color clothes does Bride primarily wear?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sweetness say she told Lula Ann to call her Sweetness instead of Mama?

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

3. What happens when Brooklyn tries to seduce Booker?

4. What is Bride’s state of mind as she is healing from the beating Sylvia Huxley gave her?

5. What kind of gesture does Bride make to Sylvia Huxley, and why does it go so wrong?

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

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

8. How does Bride react to the changes her body is experiencing?

9. How is Bride’s mother different after the courtroom than she usually is, in her treatment of Bride?

10. In a number of places, Bride says that she feels ‘erased.’ What is the importance of this feeling, in God Help the Child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of the author based on her style and content. What values does she hold dear? What are her hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think she is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

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