All Chapter Questions for God Help The Child by Toni Morrison

All questions must be answered in Full Sentences in your notebook.

Part 1, Chapter 1: Pages 3-7
1. Select 3 quotes that describe how Sweetness describes her daughter, Lula Ann and what the speakers word
choice says about the relationship between the Sweetness and Lula Ann
2. What do we learn in this chapter?
3. Add a fact about Sweetness to her character page in your notebook and include a quote that represents her.
4. Add a fact about Lula Ann to her character page in your notebook and include a quote that represents her.
Part 1, Chapter 2: Pages 8-22
1. What effect does the line You not the woman I want have on Bride? Why?
2. What are the words that Brides ex used to call her? What might be the significance of these particular words?
The only time he called me woman was the day he split
3. Who is the lady monster?
4. Why happens when Bride goes to visit Sophia Huxley? Why?
5. What is your impression of Bride and why? Find a quote to support your ideas
6. Add a fact about each character to her character page, include a quote and explanation of the quote.
Part 1, Chapter 3: Brooklyn (pages 23-28)
1. Who is Brooklyn, what do you think about her and why? Include a quote to support your analysis.
2. How does Brooklyn describe Lula Ann/Bride? Include a quote and explain the quote
3. What does Brooklyn learn about what happened to Bride?
4. What is your impression of the relationship between Brooklyn and Bride? Why?
5. Add a new fact about her to her character page
Part 1, Chapter 4: Bride (Pages 29-40)
1. What is the significance of the quote: Memory is the worst thing about healing? Why does Bride say this?
2. What is the relationship between Bride and Sophia Huxley? Include a quote
3. What disturbing facts do we learn about Brides mother? Include a quote
4. So far, what do we know about the role that Brides blackness plays in her upbringing and work life? Include a
quote
5. Add a fact about her to her character page

Part 1, Chapter 5: Sweetness (pages 41-43)

1. How does Sweetness describer her parenting of Lula Ann?
2. What about Lula Ann made Sweetness proud? Why?
3. Add a new fact about her to her character page
Part 1, Chapter 6: Bride (pages 44- 60)
1. What does Bride reveal about her relationship with Sophia Huxley?
2. What were some of the traumatic experiences Bride experienced as a child and how did she react to them?
3. Add a quote about her to your character page

Part 1, Chapter 7: Brooklyn (pages 58-60)

1. What secret does Brooklyn reveal? What does this tell her about Brooklyn, Booker and her relationship with
Bride?
2. Include a quote about her to her character page.
Part 1, Chapter 8: Bride (61-64)
1. What does Bride reveal about her relationships?
2. What questions does she raise about relationships in general?
3. Add a quote about her to her character page
Part 1, Chapter 9: Sofia ( 65-70)
1. What was Sofias prison experience like?
2. How does Sofia explain the encounter with Bride her first night on parole?
Part 2, Chapter 10: Part II (Narrator) pages 73-75
1. What does Bride acquire in the pawn shop and what is the significance of it?
Part 2, Chapter 11: Sofia, pages 76-77
1. What does Sofia reveal in this chapter about her upbringing?
Part 2, Chapter 12, pages 78-104
1. Where does Bride go and what happens to her?
2. Who is Rain and how did she end up with Evelyn and Steve?
3. What are your impressions of Evelyn and Steve?
4. What is happening to Brides body? Why?
5. What message does Rains story send to the audience? What is the authors intention with this?
6. Add quotes about the characters to the character pages
Part 2, Chapter 13: Rain (104-106)
1. How does Rain describe Bride? What does this reveal about Rain and Brides relationship?
2. What happened with Rain and Bride went for a walk? What is your analysis of this scenario?
3. Add quotes to the character pages
Part 3, - Chapter 14 (Narrator 109-135)
1. What happens with Booker at the beginning of the narration and why?
2. Who is Adam and what happened to him?
3. What is the culture of Bookers family like? What are the dynamics?
4. How did Booker end up in jail?
5. How did Booker meet Bride?
6. How are Booker and Bride both very different and similar at the same time?
7. Why do you think Booker ran away?
8. Add quotes to the character pages
Part 4, Chapter 15: Brooklyn (139-140)
1. -What does Brooklyn reveal about herself?
2. Add a quote about Brooklyn to her character page

Part 4, Chapter 16: Narrator (141-175

1. What does Bride do after her ankle heals?
2. How is Bride transforming?
3. How did Bride and Bookers notions of race differ? Have you ever or would you ever date someone of a
different ethnic or racial identity from your own? What experience do you have with this?
4. What does Bride find in Bookers writings?
5. How did Booker react when Bride finally found him and why? What did Booker learn about Brides past?
6. What happened to Booker, Bride and Queen?
7. What is Bookers relationship like with Queen?
8. What surprise does Queen have for Booker at the end of this chapter? What do you think will come of this?
9. Add quotes to the character pages

Chapter 17: Sweetness

1. How has Sweetness perception of her child changed now that shes older?
2. What is the significance of the title, God Help The Child?
3. Add quote to Sweetness character page

End-of-novel reflection
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

What did you think about God Help the Child and Why?
Why do you think Toni Morrison wrote this book?
How do the experiences these characters have in childhood shape their adulthood?
What affect do you think our upbringings have on our adolescent and adult identities?
What kind of a childhood did you have and how has that influenced who you are today?