God Help the Child MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 14, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

God Help the Child MCQs

1. What shocked Sweetness most about Lula Ann’s appearance?

A. Light-skinned mother
B. Midnight black color
C. Too much hair
D. Pale birth skin

B. Midnight black color.
Lula Ann was surprisingly midnight black, contrasting strongly with Sweetness’s light skin and family background.

2. What did Sweetness’s grandmother do after passing for white?

A. Sent letters back
B. Moved to Germany
C. Stayed with children
D. Joined a sorority

A. Sent letters back.
Her grandmother cut off contact, returning unopened letters from her own children, demonstrating her commitment to passing.

3. What was Louis’s reaction upon first seeing Lula Ann?

A. Called her ‘enemy’
B. Looked like Jupiter
C. Welcomed his child
D. Blamed his wife

B. Looked like Jupiter.
Louis, Lula Ann’s father, was shocked by her color, asking, “What the hell is this?”.

4. What name did Sweetness tell Lula Ann to call her?

A. Mama
B. Sweetness
C. Lula Mae
D. Mother

B. Sweetness.
Sweetness insisted on the name “Sweetness” because “Mama” would confuse people due to Lula Ann’s dark skin.
5. What was Lula Ann’s full name before she changed it?

A. Ann Bride Huxley
B. Lula Ann Bridewell
C. Lula Mae Starbern
D. Bride Sweetness

B. Lula Ann Bridewell.
She was born Lula Ann Bridewell, but she dropped the “dûmb countryfied name” after high school.

6. Why did Sweetness say she had to be strict with Lula Ann?

A. Keep her head down
B. Avoid being poor
C. Train her hair
D. Help her pass

A. Keep her head down.
Sweetness believed Lula Ann needed strict behavior lessons to survive the consequences of her dark color.

7. What did Sweetness once hold over the baby’s face?

A. Bottle of milk
B. A blue blanket
C. A cotton swab
D. A prayer book

B. A blue blanket.
Sweetness was so scared by the baby’s color that she held a blanket over her face for seconds.

8. What color were Lula Ann’s eyes?

A. Crow-black, blue tint
B. Green like emeralds
C. Just like her mother’s
D. Brown and startling

A. Crow-black, blue tint.
She had “funny-colored eyes,” described as crow-black with a blue tint and something witchy.

9. Where did Sweetness’s parents have to put their hands when getting married?

A. Negro Bible only
B. Colored-only fountain
C. The white people’s Bible
D. On separate books

A. Negro Bible only.
When getting married, they had to use the Bible reserved specifically for Negroes at the courthouse.
10. Why did Lula Ann finally shorten her name to Bride?

A. It sounded countryfied
B. Needed a fresh start
C. Interview hunch at Sylvia
D. Booker requested it

C. Interview hunch at Sylvia.
She shortened it to Bride on a hunch right before interviewing for a sales job at Sylvia, Inc..

11. How did Bride initially respond when Booker said, “You’re not the woman I want”?

A. Screamed and cried
B. Agreed with him
C. Shot him a hateful look
D. Called her friend

B. Agreed with him.
Bride reacted sassily, agreeing with him by saying, “Neither am I,” even though she was furious.

12. What is the name of Bride’s successful cosmetics line?

A. GlamGlo
B. Sylph Corsets
C. YOU, GIRL
D. Juicy Bronze

C. YOU, GIRL.
Bride is the regional manager for Sylvia, Inc. and created the successful brand YOU, GIRL: Cosmetics for Your Personal Millennium.

13. Why was Sofia Huxley, a former teacher, incarcerated?

A. Molesting students
B. Drug dealing
C. Bomb throwing
D. Arson

A. Molesting students.
Sofia Huxley was convicted and served time for molesting children when she was a kindergarten teacher.

14. Why did Bride go to meet Sofia upon her parole?

A. Take revenge
B. Fulfill a promise
C. Get her job back
D. Interview her husband

B. Fulfill a promise.
Bride kept a promise she made to herself long ago, planning the trip for a year.
15. What did Bride bring Sofia in the Louis Vuitton bag?

A. Cash and certificate
B. A bottle of Pinot
C. New white shoes
D. Perfume and socks

A. Cash and certificate.
She brought $5,000 cash and a $3,000 Continental Airlines gift certificate to help Sofia start over.

16. How old was Lula Ann when she testified against Sofia Huxley?

A. Sixteen
B. Eight
C. Twenty
D. Twenty-three

B. Eight.
Bride remembers being “little Lula Ann” and only eight years old when she pointed her finger in court.

17. How did Sweetness react to Lula Ann’s court testimony?

A. Looked disappointed
B. Finally hugged her
C. Was proud, held her hand
D. Threatened punishment

C. Was proud, held her hand.
Sweetness smiled like never before and held Lula Ann’s hand, surprising and pleasing the child.

18. What injury did Bride sustain during Sofia’s attack?

A. Stab wound
B. Broken ribs and jaw
C. Loss of memory
D. Two black eyes

B. Broken ribs and jaw.
Sofia smashed Bride’s jaw, punched her ribs, and butted her head, causing her bones to crack.

19. Who did Bride initially tell Brooklyn had attacked her?

A. A woman convict
B. Her landlord
C. A sexual predator
D. An anonymous robber

C. A sexual predator.
Bride concocted a story that a guy had tried to rape her but was scared off, taking nothing.
20. What clothing color did designer Jeri advise Bride to wear exclusively?

A. Midnight black
B. Only champagne
C. White, all the time
D. Bright lipstick

C. White, all the time.
Jeri insisted Bride wear white constantly, saying it complimented her “licorice skin” (Hershey’s syrup).

21. What did Brooklyn notice about Bride’s eyes after the attack?

A. Starry and wide
B. Looked like a snake’s
C. Alien, funny-colored
D. Normal and calm

C. Alien, funny-colored.
Brooklyn noted Bride’s strange, slanted, hooded, funny-colored eyes, which guys thought were gorgeous.

22. What did Brooklyn suspect Booker was, based on his behavior?

A. Professional athlete
B. An informant
C. A lawyer
D. Ex-fèlon/conman

D. Ex-fèlon/conman.
Bride joked he was an ex-fèlon; Brooklyn believed he was a conman who would turn Bride into a scared little girl.

23. What was the first unusual physical change Bride noticed when dressing for her trip?

A. Flat chest
B. Missing ear holes
C. Pubic hair gone
D. Scraped skin

C. Pubic hair gone.
Bride noticed that her pubic hair was completely gone, “erased, as in never having been there”.

24. What did Bride use the shaving brush and razor for after Booker left?

A. Self-harm
B. Comfort/excitement
C. Preparing her hair
D. Cleaning the house

B. Comfort/excitement.
Lathering and carving lanes with the razor helped her cope, feeling both excited and soothed.
25. What traumatic childhood event did Bride confess to Booker?

A. Witnessing molestation
B. Being slapped by Sweetness
C. The false testimony
D. Her financial status

A. Witnessing molestation.
She told Booker about seeing her landlord, Mr. Leigh, molesting a white boy in the basement area.

26. What did the landlord, Mr. Leigh, shout at Bride?

A. Go back home
B. Pay your rent
C. Nigger cunt
D. Close the window

C. Nigger cunt.
Mr. Leigh cursed her with hateful, racist, and misogynistic slurs after being caught.

27. According to Booker, what does the mind always want, regardless of how hard one tries to ignore it?

A. Forgiveness
B. Truth and clarity
C. Power and money
D. Comfort and love

B. Truth and clarity.
Booker told Bride that the mind always knows the truth and desires clarity, no matter the difficulty.

28. What other physical change did Bride notice after her ribs healed?

A. Unpierced earlobes
B. Teeth falling out
C. Eyes turned green
D. She gained weight

A. Unpierced earlobes.
She discovered the tiny holes from her childhood piercings were gone, resulting in “virgin earlobes”.

29. What body changes did Bride experience, making her fear she was reverting to a child?

A. Loss of height/weight
B. Flat chest, hairlessness
C. Lost all her teeth
D. Skin turning pale

B. Flat chest, hairlessness.
Bride noticed her chest flattened and pubic/armpit hair disappeared, making her feel like a little girl.
30. What field of study did Booker pursue as a graduate student?

A. Political Science
B. Afrîcan-American Studies
C. Economics
D. Music

C. Economics.
Booker turned to economics to understand how money shaped global oppression, war, and racism.

31. What was the name of Booker’s deceased older brother?

A. Goodman
B. Adam
C. Donald
D. Walter

B. Adam.
Adam, Booker’s older brother and close twin figure, went missing and was later found murdered.

32. What kind of music did Booker’s father refuse to play while Adam was missing?

A. Jazz, ragtime, old-time
B. Classical only
C. Soprano opera
D. New Orleans jazz

A. Jazz, ragtime, old-time.
During Adam’s disappearance, his father stopped playing his beloved ragtime, old-time, jazzy records.

33. What was found on the remains of Adam’s body when identified?

A. A single open eye
B. His trumpet
C. Pants and shoes
D. Dried blood

A. A single open eye.
Booker noticed the filthy, rat-gnawed remains included a single open eye socket during the identification.

34. What was the murderer of the six boys known for in his community?

A. Auto mechanic
B. A librarian
C. Slumlord
D. Drug dealer

A. Auto mechanic.
William V. Humboldt, “the nicest man in the world,” was a retired auto mechanic who solicited home repairs.
35. What did Booker get tattooed on his left shoulder?

A. Adam’s name
B. A burning heart
C. A small rose
D. The victim’s names

C. A small rose.
To individualize his grief, Booker had a small rose tattooed on his left shoulder, representing Adam.

36. Where did Booker get the money that allowed him to rent his own quiet place?

A. His grandfather’s will
B. Winning a contest
C. Logging job
D. Street playing

A. His grandfather’s will.
Mr. Drew, the slumlord grandfather, died and left a fortune to be shared among his grandchildren.

37. What name did Booker’s aunt Queen Olive get her “United Nations” recipe from?

A. Her seven husbands
B. Reed College
C. Family cookbook
D. Her mother

A. Her seven husbands.
The recipe was Queen’s “United Nations recipe” from the hometowns of her multiple husbands.

38. Despite their differences, what trait did Queen say all her many husbands shared?

A. Selfishness
B. Ownership
C. Generosity
D. Musicality

B. Ownership.
Queen found that all her husbands were essentially the same “where it counts,” sharing the trait of ownership.

39. Why did Queen tell Booker to keep his brother Adam close?

A. Her own painful past
B. She knew the killer
C. Adam was tired
D. To anger his father

A. Her own painful past.
Queen’s advice was influenced by her own regret over ignoring her daughter Hannah’s abuse complaint.
40. What did Bride realize about the pages of writing Booker sent to Queen?

A. They were poetry
B. They were about her
C. They were economics notes
D. They were poorly written

B. They were about her.
Bride concluded that the strange, unpunctuated writings were reflections about her and their time together.

41. What realization did Sofia have about the black girl after the beating?

A. She was the Devil
B. She provided the release
C. Sofia wanted revenge
D. Sofia owed her money

B. She provided release.
Sofia realized the attack gave her the gift of crying, releasing tears unshed for fifteen years.

42. Why did Rain’s mother throw her out of the house?

A. Stealing food
B. She bit a man
C. She cursed loudly
D. She ran away often

B. She bit a man.
Rain was thrown out after she bit a regular client who was sexually abusing her.

43. What action did Rain take when the older boys shot at Bride?

A. Shot back
B. She ran away
C. Bride shielded her
D. Called the police

C. Bride shielded her.
Bride put her arm in front of Rain’s face to shield her from the birdshot attack.

44. What did Bride immediately do after entering Booker’s trailer?

A. Cried hysterically
B. Slapped his face
C. Asked for money
D. Said she loved him

B. Slapped his face.
Bride ran forward nine quick steps and slapped Booker’s face as hard as she possibly could.
45. What was Bride’s real reason for falsely testifying against Sofia?

A. To get money
B. To please Sweetness
C. To keep the apartment
D. To punish the landlord

B. To please Sweetness.
She lied in court to receive love, specifically hoping her mother would finally hold her hand.

46. According to Booker, what caused his breakup with Bride?

A. His cheating
B. Lies and silence
C. Too much money
D. Her career focus

B. Lies and silence.
The split occurred because they failed to share the truth about their childhood traumas and true feelings.

47. What appeared on Bride’s body immediately after Queen’s rescue from the fire?

A. Her long hair
B. Scars disappeared
C. Her plump breasts
D. Pierced ear holes

C. Her plump breasts.
After using her T-shirt to smother the fire on Queen, Bride’s miraculously returned plump breasts delighted her.

48. What specific body part did Booker insist on tending to Queen every evening in the hospital?

A. Her injured head
B. Her broken arm
C. Her feet and hands
D. Her wounded ribs

C. Her feet and hands.
Booker, viewing it as a duty of devotion, tended to Queen’s feet and hands every evening.

49. What did Booker throw into the stream during Queen’s burial rites?

A. Adam’s toy
B. His wallet
C. His trumpet
D. Queen’s ashes

C. His trumpet.
Feeling the trumpet had failed him, Booker threw the instrument into the gray water with profound regret.
50. What news did Bride give Booker that cemented their relationship?

A. She quit her job
B. She was pregnant
C. She bought a house
D. She found Adam

B. She was pregnant.
Bride calmly informed Booker she was pregnant, leading him to affirm the child was “ours”.

Brief Overview

God Help the Child is a novel by Toni Morrison, published in 2015. The novel addresses themes of childhood trauma, colorism, and the lasting impact of abuse on identity.

The story centers on a successful businesswoman named Bride, who has a painful past. Her light-skinned mother, Sweetness, rejected Bride and mistreated her because Bride was born very dark black. Bride changed her birth name from Lula Ann to Bride to fit her new identity.

As a child, Bride helped put her teacher, Sofia Huxley, in prison by lying in court. She only told the lie to win her mother, Sweetness’s, affection. When Bride later tried to help Sofia after she was paroled, the former teacher beat her badly.

Bride’s boyfriend, Booker, suddenly left her after the beating. Following his departure, Bride’s body started physically changing. She began losing her breasts and piercings, making her feel like a child again.

The bride decided to track Booker down in a remote town. They fought, and Bride confessed her childhood lie about Sofia. Booker admitted his personal pain stemmed from his murdered brother, Adam.

They eventually reconciled after saving Booker’s Aunt Queen from a house fire. Bride tells Booker she is pregnant. Her mother, Sweetness, worries about the baby and says, “God help the child.”

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