DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Another Brooklyn
 
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  1. How are each of the girls—Sylvia, Angela, Gigi, and the narrator August—similar or different?
  2. How does Woodson portray female friendship? What difficulties do August, Sylvia, Gigi and Angela face?
  3. Do you think August did not realize her mother was dead or did she just not accept it?
  4. Death is a recurring theme in the novel. In what ways does August deal with death, if at all? Does she ever confront the subject?
  5. August’s mother had taught her that girls and women do not make good friends. What did she mean by this? How does August’s experience with her girlfriends support or contradict this idea?
  6. Why do you think that August does not find comfort and hope with her father?
  7. August’s brother comes to love learning math. Why does it appeal to him? What role does education play for each of them as they grow into adulthood?
  8. What complex forces drew the four girls apart as they grew older?
  9. Discuss race relations in Brooklyn in the 1970s as described in this novel.
  10. Discuss the role of friendship in the novel.