Questions to stimulate discussion of A Hope in the Unseen
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Ask students to talk about the often conflicting notions that appear in the book, either in the choices Cedric makes or because of limitations in his background:
high grades versus academic accomplishments
competition for the sake of competition versus competition in the pursuit of a higher purpose
being comfortable versus taking chances
faith as an end in itself and faith as a source of strength for accomplishing other things
responding to other people's expectations of him and his own expectations for himself
Cedric's actions and responses can be characterized in a number of different ways. For instance, does Cedric love learning or does he love winning—getting higher scores than other students? Does Cedric love going to Brown—or is her simply glad to be leaving Ballou? Are there other facets of his experiences that can be interpreted in different ways?
How does Cedric define success? Does that definition change during the course of the three years covered by the book?
While Cedric's mother was an inspiring influence in his life, his father advised him to aim low. How do we choose between these paths and find the courage to go beyond these paths and find the courage to go beyond the goals others set for us? How do we balance ambition versus a normal fear of failure?
SOCIOLOGY
What does Cedric’s meeting with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reveal about race and/or class as it relates to education in America?
How do Cedric's relationships with his friends and family and other acquaintances (his teachers, his minister) change after he's at Brown? Are these changes inevitable?
Excerpt to stimulate discussion:
"Once word got out about his acceptance [to Brown], he noticed a grimness start to come over his antagonists in the halls. It was easier to be the headstrong monk, a boy on a long-shot mission, before he'd actually won anything. With the prize in hand, he realized his single-minded drive came across as aloof cockiness; his painful martyrdom suddenly looked like self-nomination for sainthood. So he toned it down, not telling anyone about the Clarence Thomas meeting. Not discussing his preparations for Brown. Not talking too much about the awards. Pride, he knows, can get you killed in a place like this." (126-127).
How does Cedric feel about his father at the beginning of the book? How do his feelings change through the course of the book? What role does his father play in the formation of Cedric's drive to succeed?
Ninety-two-year-old Miriam Korb remarks to Cedric, "I sure would like to meet your mother. She must be quite a woman." Do you agree? How so? How would you describe Barbara Jennings' relationship with her son? On the eve of eviction, Barbara confesses to Cedric that she's "let you down again, Lavar." How has she let him down in the past? How has she saved him in the past?
When Cedric reads his acceptance letter to the MIT program, "he begins jumping around the tiny kitchen. Barbara reaches out to touch him, to share it—her moment, too—but he spins out of reach." (76) This scene seems to represent their relationship—indeed, the relationship of a parent to any child who is successful. How has Cedric's long struggle affected his mother? What resources has she been able to contribute to his success, to his character development, to his survival? Would Cedric and his mother agree about her role in his life if they were asked to explain it?
EDUCATION
What does the summer experience at MIT teach Cedric about his education at Ballou High School?
Cedric’s father is an educated man with two degrees. Is he a success?
Embarrassed, Cedric went to great pains to hide his SAT score from his peers in the MIT Summer Program and at Brown. Is the SAT an accurate measure of a student’s potential for academic success?
Cedric's academic success causes him to be labeled a "nerd" and worse at Ballou High School. How do we accept our talents in the face of ridicule? And how do we avoid the jealousy in the face of what we perceive to be more talent in someone else that leads to ridicule? Cedric knew he would be seen as a "sell-out" by going to an Ivy League school. How did he find the strength to swim against the tide?
Teachers and administrators at Ballou, frustrated with the lack of positive role models for students, erect a giant "Wall of Honor" to commemorate those students who manage to maintain a B average or better. Principal Washington offers $100 checks to students who score straight A's. Why do these measures backfire? How else might the teachers and administrators more effectively boost good students' self esteem?
Cedric overhears a white professor, in discussing affirmative action, saying, "Are we really doing a service to young people to boost them above their academic level and then not offer the services they need? Because who really can? There's no choice but laissez-faire, sink or swim. They should be going to middle-rung universities." Do you agree? Does Cedric receive any special support services at Brown? Is he offered too many breaks? Not enough? Would he have been better served at a middle-rung university?
MULTICULTURAL/GENDER ISSUES
Does Cedric face particular pressures in high school because he is male? Is there particular pressure on males not to succeed academically?
Justice Clarence Thomas tells Cedric “Try to say to yourself, I’m not a black person, I’m just a person. You’ll find a lot of so-called multicultural combat, a lot of struggle between ethnic and racial groups – and people wanting to sign you on, to narrow yourself into some group or other. You have to resist that, Cedric. You understand?” (121) What do you think about Judge Thomas’s advice?
Why does Justice Thomas advise Cedric to avoid Afro-American studies and ethnic identity groups while at Brown? Do you agree with Thomas? To what extent does Cedric heed his words? What do you think Cedric's attitude toward the subject would have been had he come of age when Clarence Thomas did?
Is it fair to offer special consideration in the admissions process? If you were an admissions officer, to which, if any, of the following groups would you give special consideration? Children of alumni and/or donors? Athletes? Musicians? Ethnic minorities? International Students?
One of Cedric's advisors at MIT, moved by the obstacles facing Cedric, reflects on his own experiences as a black undergraduate at MIT in the 1950s. He recalls that he thought of himself as a "black pioneer" that others would follow (p. 92). Although he doesn't necessarily articulate it in the same way, how does Cedric see himself as a pioneer? How are all new college students pioneers, in a way?
Excerpt to stimulate discussion:
Cedric says, "I think your identity should come from something you take pride in. It shouldn't be something that just sets you apart from other people, it should be one of those things that . . . people generally understand is a good thing, something we all share, rather than what separates us. I mean, the things that make up identity are deeper things than skin color or whatever. Thing, I don't know, like character or our faith or how we treat other people." (177)
What are some of the challenges that Brown poses to Cedric's identity as an urban black? What sort of balance does Cedric strike between "selling out" to the white establishment, and succeeding on his own terms? How does he manage to negotiate a truce between fitting in and being himself?
How is Zayd Dohrn actually better equipped than his radical, activist parents at negotiating the racial divides of today? Why do you think he is the first Brown student Cedric opens up to?
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION
During Bishop Long’s last sermon before Cedric leaves for Brown, Long fears thoughts about “a belief in the sovereignty of self [that breaks] . . . the spell of absolute unquestioning faith . . .” (151). Later, after Thanksgiving dinner, Dr. Korb says Cedric “needs to find his place through reason, not faith, a place in the world of men, not just some imagined kingdom of heaven” (256). Does the definition of faith change in the book? How?
How does Cedric’s faith support him through his challenges? Are there ways in which his faith added to his challenges?
Why do you think Bishop C.L. Long's brand of Apostolic Pentecostalism is so successful among the poor and lower middle class blacks of southeast Washington, D.C.? How do his church and his preaching address their needs? How does his fundraising technique prey on their particular fears? Does it bother you that he drives a Cadillac, and later, a Rolls Royce, or do you feel he deserves such material rewards for his hard work?
Mr. Taylor misquotes Hebrews II:I as "the substance of faith is a hope in the unseen." How does his misquotation inspire Cedric more than the actual words of the Bible? What other people throughout history have been motivated by a hope in the unseen? What kind of place is Cedric hoping for? Does he ever find it?
What kind of transformation did Cedric's faith undergo as a result of his first year at Brown? How has his faith helped him in the past? How will it help him in the future?
COLLEGE TRANSITION
What was the most important thing you brought with you to college?
Cedric has fears about starting college. In what ways are his fears typical? In what ways are they unique? How do you plan to communicate with your college professors?
Despite a promising beginning, Cedric and his roommate Rob develop a very rocky relationship. What are the factors that lead to this trouble? How might they have overcome their differences?
Toward the end of his first year at Brown, Cedric returned to Washington to speak at Alumni Day at Ballou High School. Cedric tells the assembly, “It’s hard to believe I’m saying this, considering what Ballou can be like, but in some ways, this is a shelter for you, a protection against some of the real obstacles to achievement, some of which are real and complicated. Once you get out there, you have to build your own protection” (266). What obstacles are you likely to encounter in your first year of college?
Residence hall life is like being in a foreign country; indeed, coming to college confronts students with almost exactly that kind of culture shock. How does Cedric learn to fit in with the mostly white freshman class—or does he? How does he "map out" this foreign country?
A Hope in the Unseen is full of characters who make choices: to be smart, to be popular; to be "nerdy," to be "cool"; to plan ahead, to go with the flow. Do college students really have to make such stark choices? How does one balance these characteristics?
Ask your discussion group to talk about their expectations for their EIU experience. Do they believe that the book describes a kind of generic college experience? Are they thinking of it as a kind of handbook for the difficulties and rewards of going to university? How do they think their experience will be different from Cedric's?
JOURNALISM
The author of the book, Ron Suskind, documented the rise and fall and rise of Cedric. At one point, when Cedric and his mother face imminent eviction, this writer could have easily stepped in to cover their monetary needs, but didn’t. Why not?
What is the line between objectivity (reporting the story) and the ethics of compassion?
Why is it easy to imagine Cedric’s environment? Think about how the mass media -- in particular, movies, television and music -- portray ill-educated, poor African American men. What does this portrayal accentuate? What does it ignore?
Do you think Ron Suskind would have written this story if Cedric had only hoped to go to a community college? What aspects would have changed if he chose only to get more education rather than an Ivy League education?
PSYCHOLOGY
Is Cedric's isolation an inevitable result of his "differentness," or a coping mechanism that he uses to survive? In other words, is it a condition that comes outside of Cedric or from within?
The choices made by the young people in the book are obviously based on a number of factors, but it often comes down to a matter of focus. How does Cedric maintain his focus? Why does Philip lose his? What external and internal factors result in the sharpening or the blurring of a person's focus.
What is the difference between self-esteem and pride? Describe the rising and falling of Cedric's self-esteem; does his pride help him cope with the challenges he faces?
At Frank W. Ballou Senior High, students learn a daily lesson: "distinctiveness can be dangerous, so it's best to develop an aptitude for not being noticed." To what extent does Cedric Jennings heed this lesson? What are the steps he takes to avoid attention from the "crews"? What are the ways in which he defies them? How would members of your book group have responded in Cedric's situation?
How do the same behavioral patterns that kept Cedric alive and intact at Ballou backfire at Brown? How does he learn to "unfold" and open himself up to his new community?
ENGLISH/RHETORIC
What are the turning points in this narrative of Cedric's journey?
Many of the questions up to now have dealt with Cedric's point of view, but there are many other points of view in the book, too. How was Cedric viewed by his high school classmates, by members of his church, by the people he met at MIT and at Brown (students and professors alike)? Are any of these perceptions contradictory?
The book never mentions Cedric's numerous interactions and interviews with the author. What sort of effect might Ron Suskind's research have had on his subjects, particularly Cedric? Why do you think Suskind chose not to include himself in the book? Do you wish he had?
One third of the book is told from the perspective of characters other than Cedric. What is the effect of changing the narrative voice? Why might the author have done so?
