Homegoing

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. How do you see naming used as a recurring theme in Homegoing? (topic sentence)

• How does naming initially define one of the characters in the novel?
• In what ways does naming change a power dynamic, redefine that character, or limit their potential?
• How does this experience contrast with that of another character?

2. Choose a character in the text and examine how they are limited or held back by dominant gender roles of their time. (topic sentence)

• When does the intersection of gender and race make this more difficult for a character?
• How does the character seek to resolve or escape the limitations of these roles? Are they successful?

3. What makes family and parenthood central themes in Homegoing? (topic sentence)

• How do slavery and segregation impact the ability of parents in the novel to care and provide for their children?
• Who is able to resolve this trauma in later generations?
• What impact does this have on Marjorie and Marcus?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In Gyasi’s writing, a positive experience for one character can often be destructive in another’s life. This paradox is evident across generations as characters seek to adapt to new lives, separate from their family legacy, or return to their origins. Including explicit evidence from the text in your response, compare two characters’ stories and consider why Gyasi juxtaposes two vastly different experiences of the same thing.

2. Choose a chapter to examine within its historical context. For example, what social and historical events are directly or indirectly affecting Kojo’s life? Using specific examples from the text, show where Gyasi weaves these events into the narrative. How do these events (good or bad) impact not only that character’s personal agency but the lives of that character’s children?

3. How does looking at one life from multiple perspectives affect the reader’s interpretation of a character? For instance, Yaw appears in the book as a baby, a middle-aged man, and an elderly father. How does this characterization contrast with characters who appear in only one chapter? Does their presence over multiple generations have a particular effect on their descendants?