Go Tell It on the Mountain

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1

Reading Check

1. Which two words does the narrator use to describe the transformations people experience during the Sunday services?

2. Why does Father James believe Elisha and Ella Mae sinned?

3. Why does John feel guilty on the morning of his 14th birthday?

4. According to John’s mother, why does John’s father beat his children?

5. What does John decide to use his birthday money on?

6. What physical activity does John ask Elisha to help him with?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Elisha? Summarize how he contributes to John’s sexual awakening.

2. What attributes does John realize that he possesses outside of his church community? Identify a memory John shares where this realization becomes clear to him.

3. Describe John’s house. How does he link this description with the members of his family?

4. What does John reflect on as he traverses New York City?

5. What event does John come home to? Describe how the family responds to his arrival.

6. How does John think his family treats him compared with his brother Roy? What is an example of this preferential treatment?

Paired Resource

“Churches and Religion in Black American Life”

• Pew Research Center’s 2021 article discusses churches’ significant social role in Black communities.
• This resource can connect through discussion to the theme of Religious Piety and Hypocrisy.
• Based on the novel and the above resource, what role does the church play in Black communities historically?

Part 2, Chapter 1

Reading Check

1. According to Florence, why is Gabriel happy during the church service?

2. What led Florence to the prayer altar?

3. What memory does Florence have of Deborah when they were young?

4. According to Florence, what is a woman’s “cruel destiny?”

5. What are the contents of the letter that Florence saved from Deborah?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Florence describe her life when she was young? How did her future expectations differ from her mother’s?

2. Summarize her mother and Gabriel’s responses when Florence announces she is going to the North. What in particular troubles Gabriel?

3. Who is Frank? What happened to him?

Paired Resource

“The Emancipation Proclamation”

• The National Archives shares the primary text and historical significance of President Lincoln’s 1863 Proclamation.
• This resource can connect through discussion to the theme of Racism and Generational Trauma.
• Based on the novel and the above resource, what were the expectations of The Emancipation Proclamation on improving the lives of formerly enslaved people? How do these expectations diverge from reality?

“Reconstruction and Its Aftermath”

• The Library of Congress’s resource briefly explains the migration patterns of formerly enslaved people during the Reconstruction era.
• This resource can connect through discussion to the theme of Racism and Generational Trauma.
• Based on the novel and the above resource, what are some reasons why Black communities in former slave states migrated from the South?

Part 2, Chapter 2

Reading Check

1. What does Gabriel believe his mother was waiting for before her death?

2. Which religious honor is Gabriel surprised to receive?

3. What does Gabriel’s first sermon center on?

4. What does Gabriel associate Esther with?

5. What does Esther ask Gabriel for before she leaves?

6. Why does Esther call her son Royal?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the night of Gabriel’s spiritual transformation. What act does he decide to do shortly after?

2. What does Gabriel’s monologue reveal about his biological children?

3. When does Gabriel realize he hates Deborah? Describe what happens in the aftermath of this realization.

4. What sorrowful news does Deborah bring Gabriel? How does he respond?

Paired Resource

The Cain and Abel Story

• This article explains the story and describes the significance of Cain and Abel as biblical figures.
• This resource can connect through discussion of generational trauma.
• In which ways does generational trauma repeat itself? Use the above resource as well as the novel in your answer.

Part 2, Chapter 3-Part 3

Reading Check

1. What was Elizabeth’s aunt’s opinion of her niece?

2. According to Elizabeth, what is the main difference between the North and the South?

3. Who befriends Elizabeth at work?

4. What does John realize about the generational “curse” in Part 3?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why did Elizabeth’s aunt feel her father was unfit to raise a child? How did Elizabeth feel about this change in guardianship?

2. Describe Elizabeth’s relationship with Richard. How does reality change her expectations?

3. Describe the case brought against Richard and the outcome of the situation.

4. Summarize how John’s family acts to him after his moment of salvation.

5. What does Florence reveal to Gabriel at the end of Part 3? How does Gabriel react?

Recommended Next Reads 

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

• Baldwin’s 1974 novel, which centers on the effects of structural racism on a young Black couple in New York City, is an example of work produced during the Black Arts Movement.
• Shared themes include Sexuality and Shame and Racism and Generational Trauma.
• Shared topics include false imprisonment, the struggle of relationships behind bars, and police brutality.
• If Beale Street Could Talk on SuperSummary

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

• Steinbeck’s 1952 novel uses the allegory of Cain and Abel to discuss the impact of generational trauma on the father-son relationship.
• Shared topics include Cain and Abel, generational trauma, and father-son relationships.
• East of Eden on SuperSummary