Summer Reading Program

Reader's Guide - Honky by Dalton Conley

Chapter Three: “Downward Mobility” (pages 21-35)

Content Questions:

1. What artwork replaced the flowerboxes in Conley’s neighborhood?
2. What is a “tag”?
3. What details does Conley offer about his mother’s background?  What was her university experience like?  What experiences did she have with racism?
4. How does he contrast his father with his mother?

Discussion Questions & Journal Ideas:

1. What does the phrase “upward mobility” mean?  The title of this chapter is “downward mobility.”  Why?  How does the concept of upward mobility define the American ideal, and what happens when the direction is reversed?
2. At the end of this chapter, Conley says, “[my father’s] obliviousness was the opposite of my mother’s; whereas she was prone to see things that weren’t there, he was likely not to notice things that were.  Both adaptations would serve them well in the inner city” (35).  Why?  What living conditions would such obliviousness help with?
3. How well do you feel you know Conley’s parents and their motivations by the end of the chapter?  Why do you think he includes this brief family history?  What does it add to the story he is telling?

 

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