Summer Reading Program

Reader's Guide - Honky by Dalton Conley

Chapter Eight: “Getting Paid” (pages 91-101)

Content Questions:

1. Why doesn’t Conley have any money for snacks?
2. If the old woman in the supermarket isn’t buying cat food for any cats, why is she buying it?
3. What did Conley steal from the luncheonette, and how does his mother deal with his theft?  What did Conley say he learned from that experience?
4. Conley says that his “theft had worked out for the best” (100).  Why?
5. How does Conley’s mother’s reaction to his lunchtime job differ from the principal of P.S. 41’s reaction?

Discussion Questions & Journal Ideas:

1. Conley writes, “I had never realized how empowering it felt to spend money” (93).  What is “empowering” about spending money?  Why?  How is this privilege also tied to race and class?
2. What do you think of Conley’s efforts to get cash?  How much are they simply the efforts of any American boy who wants money to spend with his friends, and how much do they reflect his cultural surroundings?  How does his experience differ from his friends at P.S. 41, and also from his neighbors?  How do they differ from your own?

 

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