Chapters 2-3
Who took care of Maya and Bailey after they arrived in Stamps?
Who is Mama (Maya's Grandmother)?
How did Maya learn to be clean?
Mama would look at their feet, and whack them in the feet with a stick while they were sleeping, if they were dirty.
What did Mama do that made Maya embarrassed in front of Mrs.Flowers
Mama made Maya take her dress of in front of her, so that she could show her the stitching.
Why did Bailey come home late after Uncle Willie sent him out to run errands.
Bailey saw and had to carry a dead negro man, to the jail.
Who was Mr.McElroy, and why was he significant?
Maya's neighbor, Maya looked up to him because he was very independent.
Why couldn't Negros buy vanilla ice cream? Where there any occasions that they were allowed to?
They couldn't buy vanilla ice cream because it was "too white" for them. They could only have chocolate, unless it was 4th of July.
Who does the quote refer to, "She attracted me because she was like people I had never met personally."
Mrs.Flowers
Why are Maya and Bailey being sent to California?
Mama is worried about their safety, and thinks she is getting to old to take care if them.
Why is Uncle Willie crippled?
The babysitter dropped him on his head as a baby.
What happened when the white girls came to the shop?
The girls where rude and disrespectful to Mama, and Mama didn't react at all. She just continued to sang while the white girls were rude.
When Bailey came home from the movies, why was he in shock.
He was in shock because he saw a woman acting that he thought looked like his mother, at the movies.
Why was Maya considered different at her high school?
Maya was considered different, because she was one of three black girls in an all white school.
Why was Maya forced to drive?
Maya had to drive, because her father was crazy drunk, and could barely function.
Why was Maya jealous of Bailey?
Maya was jealous of Bailey's good looks.
Why were Maya and Bailey advanced in math?
They were advanced in math, because of all their work at the store.
Who's Tommy?
Tommy is the boy who writes Maya a Valentine.
What school does Maya get transferred to.
Washington Highschool?
Why did Uncle Willie have to hide?
He had to hide because a black guy was accused of "flirting" with a white woman,The KKK was going around looking for the black man, and they didn't want him to be hurt by them.
What did Maya realize she was missing about Stamps?
Maya missed the quite, familiarity, and how the way things are were set in stone.
How did Maya change after meeting Louise?
Maya felt like she was a girl again, after being a woman for three years.
What are the differences between the written and spoken language?
Spoken language was much more sloppy, and written language was very formal and "polite".