How is Mushy different from her mother? How did she manage to leave the family to go to work in Cleveland? Did the experience really change her? Is Tangy Mae right to judge her for drinking? Why has she returned to Pakersfield?ħ.

said I couldn’t have no mo’, and all I got was a darkie.” What might this have to do with Judy’s untimely death?Ħ.

What do you believe Rozelle’s reasons are for having children? Do you think she would have used “the pill” if it had been available? Rozelle says of Judy’s birth, “It broke something inside me they can’t fix. What effect does Rozelle’s appearance have on her mental condition? What benefits does she derive from her beauty, and conversely, how does it harm her? What is the difference between her current treatment by white society and the treatment she would be accorded if she “passed” as white?ĥ. Could she?” who or what is she questioning?Ĥ. Why does Tangy momentarily refuse to believe her own senses? When she thinks, “No mother could do that, not even mine. She is convincing when she tells the sheriff it was an accident. Rozelle has been brutal to her children, but she has never killed one until she throws Judy from the porch (Chapter 27). How is the hierarchy that Rozelle establishes among her children of “white,” “Indian,” and “Negro” shaped by her own experience as a light-skinned black woman, as well as America’s history of colonization and slavery? Do you believe that racism based on skin tone persists today? How does its role differ within and outside of minority communities?ģ.

As the book opens, does Tangy Mae truly believe her mother is dying? If she does, how has she remained so innocent? Would things be different today? How is the loss of Tangy’s innocence reflected in her telling of the story?Ģ.

The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips