Elwood’s World
This city in Florida is where Elwood Curtis grows up.
What is Tallahassee?
Elwood listens to this civil rights leader’s speeches on his record player.
Who is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
Elwood hitches a ride with this man, unaware he’s making a dangerous mistake.
Who is Rodney?
The Nickel Academy claims to be a school for this purpose.
What is reforming troubled boys?
Elwood’s record player represents this theme.
What is hope and belief in progress?
Elwood is raised by this relative after his parents leave.
Who is his grandmother, Harriet?
The name of the record Elwood plays repeatedly is this.
What is “Martin Luther King at Zion Hill”?
The car Elwood rides in turns out to be this.
What is stolen?
The school’s reality is much closer to this kind of institution.
What is a prison or abusive labor camp?
The Nickel Academy symbolizes this larger system.
What is institutional racism in America?
This job at the hotel gives Elwood an early sense of responsibility.
What is working as a bellhop?
This quote from King inspires Elwood to act with morality and fairness.
What is “Throw us in jail, and we will still love you”?
Elwood’s arrest shows this harsh reality about race and justice in the 1960s South.
What is that Black people could be punished without cause?
Students at the Nickel Academy are divided into these two groups.
What are White Boys and Colored Boys?
The contrast between Elwood’s ideals and his reality highlights this theme.
What is innocence vs. corruption?
Elwood dreams of attending this college before his life changes.
What is Melvin Griggs Technical College?
Elwood’s teacher helps him get involved with this program for advanced students.
What is college courses or the local college program?
Despite his innocence, Elwood is sent to this institution.
What is the Nickel Academy?
The school’s “honor system” really enforces this kind of control.
What is fear and punishment?
Elwood’s love for Dr. King’s words shows the conflict between morality and this.
What is survival in an unjust world?
This object, a gift from his grandmother, symbolizes Elwood’s hope for learning and self-improvement.
What is the encyclopedia set?
King’s message of justice makes Elwood believe this about how people should be treated.
What is that all people are equal and deserve respect?
The judge’s sentence reflects this systemic issue.
What is racial injustice in the legal system?
This symbolizes the hypocrisy of the school’s stated mission vs. reality.
What is the school’s moral façade or the name “Academy”?
The opening chapters’ flash-forward structure hints at this literary technique.
What is foreshadowing?