Summer Reading Program

Reader's Guide - Honky by Dalton Conley

Chapter Seventeen: “Cultural Capital” (pages 183-96)

Content Questions:

1. What school does Conley test into, and how far away is it from the Conley home?  What school does he end up going to after all?
2. How has Conley’s neighborhood begun to change?
3. What allows the Conleys to move to Westbeth?
4. How does Conley fare socially in this new neighborhood?
5. What technique does Conley use to combat his social problems? Does it work?

Discussion Questions & Journal Ideas:

1. Describe his parents’ opposing reactions to Jerome’s shooting.  Can you explain the reasoning behind each of them?  Which seems more logical to you, and why?  How would you react?
2. Once again, the “n-word,” as Conley’s mother calls it, comes up in this chapter (187).  How does his mother react?  How does Conley?  His father?  How does the word seem to change, given the context, who is saying it, and who is listening?
3. How would you react to the performance artist Vico Acconci and his work?  Does it seem like art to you?  Why or why not?  Can you tell how Conley feels about this kind of art?  Why or why not?
4. In what way is Conley’s social awkwardness more disturbing to him in this new environment?  What made it easier for him to take back in his old neighborhood?
5. Describe Conley’s first real visit with Jerome after the shooting.  How does he act?  How does the rest of his family act?  Why is there such a disconnect between Conley’s actions and those of his family?
6. The book effectively ends with Conley’s mother telling Jerome that the family moved away from Avenue D because of him (196).  Discuss how this ending ties up the themes of the book, for you as a reader.  What do you think she means by that statement?

 

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