Summer Reading Program

Reader's Guide - Honky by Dalton Conley

Chapter One: “Black Babies” (pages 3-9)

Content Questions:

1. How old is Conley when the first chapter begins?
2. What does his father do for a living? His mother?
3. Where did Conley find the baby?  How did this change his parents’ relationship with her parents?
4. What happened in the elevator?

Discussion Questions & Journal Ideas:

1. What does Conley’s kidnapping of the black baby suggest about how young children perceive racial difference? What does it suggest about how racist attitudes are acquired?
2. What does the moment in the elevator mean to Conley’s mother?  What connection did the two mothers share, however briefly, and how did that come about?  What might the significance of such a connection be?
3. Why does an open door come to symbolize death for Conley?  What does that tell us about his neighborhood?
4. Conley talks about how language served to unify, to some extent, the children in his neighborhood.  How?  How did his looks “help” him fit in as a child?  What does this say about how children view race, difference, and identity?
5. Think back to your own childhood.  What sort of children did you play with?  How did you differentiate yourself from them?  What elements made you feel a part of the group (or separate from it)?

 

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