Black Brother, Black Brother

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is best exemplified by the headmaster’s decision to call the cops on Donte?

A) That headmasters at private schools do not tolerate any bad behavior

B) That Black students are disproportionately punished

C) That the Davies family secretly controls every decision the school makes

D) That the headmaster had it out for Donte from the start

2. Which of the following people reacted with surprise when they learned that Trey and Donte are brothers?

A) Headmaster McGeary

B) Zarra

C) Coach Jones

D) The police officer that arrests Donte

3. What is the effect of Denise’s mention of real events when she says, “This is how it starts. Bias. Racism. Plain and simple. Philadelphia, cops called on black men meeting in Starbucks. Portland, cops called on a hotel guest talking on his cell phone with his mother” (Chapter 5)?

A) It emphasizes that racism exists in the real world and that, while this novel is fictional, Donte’s experience could the experience of actual Black students.

B) It reinforces the unfair treatment that her son experiences and shows that the main conflict in this novel will be between Denise and the school.

C) It demonstrates how fiercely Denise is willing to protect her son and the reason for her decision to send Donte to public school from now on.

D) It suggests that Denise has personal experience with discrimination, having attended a private school herself.

4. How do we know how important the breathing exercise that Coach taught Donte is?

A) Donte outright explains that it is important.

B) Denise mentions that she notices that it has helped Donte compose himself.

C) Donte mentions using it at other points in the novel.

D) Trey asks Donte to teach it to him too.

5. How is the mention of The Three Musketeers among Trey, Donte, and their dad an example of foreshadowing?

A) They become a fencing trio known as the “Three Musketeers.”

B) Middlefield Prep’s motto is “All for one. One for all.”

C) Donte comes to dislike The Three Musketeers later in the novel.

D) Donte and Trey learn that the author’s mother was Black and father was white.

6. What contradiction does Donte have to wrestle with after he and Trey stand their ground against Alan and his friends at fencing practice?

A) The fact that boys are told be tough but when Black men are seen as tough, it can be dangerous for them

B) The fact that Donte and Trey both attend Middlefield Prep but are actively working to defeat its fencing team

C) The fact that Trey and Alan were once friends and Alan now gets better treatment at school than he does

D) The fact that Trey might not be popular anymore because of Donte’s actions

7. Which of the following best demonstrates the choosing of a parry as the “ultimate physical and mental skill” (Chapter 7)?

A) The way that Donte uses an offensive parry to advance in his first tournament

B) The way that Coach carefully avoids Jonathan Michael’s attempts to anger him during their conversation

C) The way that Zarra recovers from Alan’s call of “Hey, black girl!” during her first tournament

D) The way that Denise goes back and forth with the prosecutor in Donte’s hearing

8. Why might Donte disagree with the statement “justice is blind” after his hearing?

A) The judge bases his decision entirely on how Donte dresses for his hearing.

B) Donte’s mother must bribe the judge so that Donte won’t get in trouble.

C) Donte must combat the judge’s stereotypes of Black boys.

D) The prosecutor clearly has spoken with the judge beforehand.

9. What does Donte realize after his first tournament?

A) That his hopes of beating Alan are all for naught

B) That he enjoys fencing and he no longer does it just to beat Alan

C) That he has feelings for Zarra

D) That Trey is the better fencer

10. What does Coach’s regret over throwing a match in his past show about what he values about fencing?

A) He values the sense of honor and mutual respect between opponents in fencing.

B) He values the competition in fencing.

C) He values the belief that fencing makes you a better person.

D) He values the wealth that fencing symbolizes.

11. Which of the following best describes why Donte thinks he and his teammates should be proud of their first tournament, even though they each lost their bouts?

A) They’re the first students from the Boys and Girls Club to fence in a tournament.

B) They did their best and have worked very hard in order to hold their own with their competitors.

C) They almost were not able to attend because of the late formation of their team.

D) No one expected them—a group of Black students—to fence in a tournament because fencing has typically been populated by white contenders.

12. According to Coach, why are most fencers in Boston white?

A) There is a race and class bias because public schools don’t offer fencing as often as private schools do.

B) People of color in Boston have concerns other than fencing.

C) Fencing has not been a historically popular sport in Boston to begin with.

D) Most fencers in Boston come from Middlefield Prep.

13. Why does Donte emphasize that his wrist is in pain during his bout with Alan?

A) He hopes that it will make Alan feel guilty for what he did.

B) He hopes that it will trick Alan into thinking he is weak.

C) He hopes that his parents will see that he is in pain and intercede.

D) He hopes that the referee will call for a timeout.

14. Why does Donte hold Alan’s hand when the other boy tries to remove it from their shake?

A) He wants Alan to feel even more embarrassed.

B) He wants Alan to finally see him for all that he is.

C) He wants Alan to know that everything has changed.

D) He wants Alan to recognize that he’s going to be captain of the Middlefield fencing team.

15. Why do Donte and Trey wear corresponding t-shirts the week of the anniversary of Donte’s arrest?

A) They want to put the teasing phrase “Black brother, black brother” to rest for good.

B) They want to show that they are still united as brothers.

C) They want to emphasize that Trey receives privileges that Donte does not and how this is unjust.

D) They want to educate their fellow students and help them to understand race better.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What does it mean to “see” in this book? Provide two examples.

2. Why do you think that the author includes the explanatory chapters about fencing?