The Price of a
Child: Adult Literacy Curriculum Guide
Great Books Discussion Questions
- Why does Tyree give Mercy the $500 ("the price of a child Bennie's age" p.318)?
- What does it mean to Tyree?
- Will he tell any of his family that he did this?
- How important is this money to the Quick family? Who will miss it?
- What difference will it make in any of their lives?
- What does this gift mean to Tyree's relationship to Mercy?
- Does he believe that this money is his best substitute for love?
- What does this gift mean to Mercy?
- Why does she leave Philadelphia?
- How has she changed?
- Why does Mercy go to court to defend the porters?
- Who helped her to become strong enough to do this?
- Mercy believed, "She was not [protected by the law]."(p. 193)
Was she right?
- Why does she quote Wendell Phillips, "if the lions told history"?(p.193)
- Why does Mercy think speakers of history tell different stories?
- How does Mercy's speaking out change the story? Why?
- How does this book change the story of history?
- Why does Nig-Nag's death persuade Mercy to do the speaking tour? (p. 236)
- Why was she hesitant?
- Why was it an important experience for Mercy?
- What does Mercy mean by repeating "Same 'ol"? (p. 248)
- Why does Mercy call slavery "a great and terrible lie"? (p. 283)
- Why does she ask "these feisty Americans: did they want freedom"? (264)
- Why is freedom an alternative to being "warm & dry, loved & fed"?
- Why does Ginnie say, "I always wanted to be free." (p. 48)
- What does Ginnie mean by freedom at this time?
- Why was this escape a "public exhibition"? (p. 43)
- Why does Ginnie's name become Mercer?
- Why does she continue to think of herself as Mercy?
- Why does Mercy say, "I always wanted to be free?" (201)
- Has "freedom" changed its meaning for Mercy?
- Why does Mercy reject the idea of "freedom with no paybacks?" (p. 190)
- Reprise: Why does Mercy leave Philadelphia?
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