If Beale Street Could Talk

Part 1, Pages 3-75

Reading Check

1. As Clementine and Alonzo, respectively (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

2. Because she has “a lot on [her] mind” (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

3. “Trouble means you’re alone.” (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

4. At the bus station in Albany (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

5. “[T]he white man” (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

6. The waiters at the little Spanish restaurant (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

Short Answer

1. Tish announces her pregnancy to Fonny while he is in jail. He is initially in shock, but then delighted with the news. After returning home from jail, she then announces her pregnancy to Sharon, who, Tish believes, “already knew, had known all along, had only been waiting for me to tell her.” Her mother is understanding and assures her that she is not a “bad girl.” (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

2. Tish believes that New York City is “the ugliest and dirtiest city in the world.” She believes that all of her good memories with the city were because of her dad, not because of the city itself. (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

3. When Tish was 6 and Fonny was 9, Tish’s best friend Geneva hated Fonny, and they got into a fight after school. After Tish hit Fonny and he started to bleed, everyone thought that he would die. After spending some time recuperating, Tish and Fonny made amends and became friends. (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

4. As both Joseph and Sis come home from work, they inquire about Tish and Fonny. The conversation reveals that Sis helped locate a lawyer and the Rivers family, as opposed to the Hunts, is helping to pay for Fonny’s lawyer, even though it is a financial burden. They consider Fonny a part of the family. (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

5. Several weeks after she feels Fonny’s erection for the first time, the pair meet again and travel through the city. She realizes in these moments that he has a body and that she never thought of having any other man in her life. (PPart 1, Pages 3-75)

5. While the Rivers family takes the news in a collectively positive and loving manner, ultimately reassuring Tish with support and love, the Hunts are negative. Mrs. Hunt curses the baby, Frank hits his wife, and Sis and Tish begin a verbal spar with Fonny’s sisters. (Part 1, Pages 3-75)

Part 1, Pages 75-135

Reading Check

1. He wants to ask Papa’s permission to marry Tish. (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

2. Officer Bell’s testimony (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

3. For stealing a car (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

4. Prostitution (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

5. A “long file” with evidence that he previously murdered an African American boy (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

Short Answer

1. After they profess their love for each for the first time, Fonny tells Tish that he wants to be straightforward about the love and time that he will give to his art. This ultimately means a life of poverty for the couple, as Tish will need to find work in order to help make ends meet. (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

2. After meeting by chance on the street, Fonny brings Danny back to his loft to see the home he shares with Tish. After Tish leaves, Fonny begins to describe the issues that they have finding a bigger loft, especially for himself, since male landlords are more likely to rent to Tish if they think she is single. He shares that he is scared for his and Tish’s future if they do not have each other. (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

3. Mrs. Rogers is a Puerto Rican woman who lived in New York with her husband and children. After accusing Fonny of rape, she quickly returns to Puerto Rico. Without Mrs. Rogers in New York, there is only Officer Bell’s testimony which, although riddled with inconsistencies, is potent given his position in the police force. (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

4. Sis is working another job, and Frank and Joseph begin to steal in addition to working overtime. (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

5. Sis determines that Sharon must go to Puerto Rico in order to find Mrs. Rogers and collect testimony that clears Fonny’s name. Mr. Hayward gives her an address as well as a photograph of Mrs. Rogers, and Sharon also brings a photograph of Fonny and Tish with her. (Part 1, Pages 75-135)

Part 1, Pages 135-174

Reading Check

1. The Spanish restaurant (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

2. The night of the altercation at the market (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

3. Her hometown, Birmingham (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

4. Their age (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

5. A B. B. King song played on many different radios (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

6. His eyes (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

Short Answer

1. While shopping for tomatoes, Tish is harassed by an Italian boy. She defends herself, and in that moment, Fonny sees what happens and begins to beat him up. A cop sees Fonny and is going to arrest him, but the Italian shop owner speaks up and comes to the couple’s defense. (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

2. Sharon is overwhelmed by the chaos of the San Juan airport; however, she takes charge of the situation and finds a counter where someone can help her reserve a taxi. Her taxi driver is Jaime, a young boy, and she decides to play up her appearance as a tourist to ensure that she can use him for her time in Puerto Rico. (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

3. After dropping off her luggage at the hotel, Sharon asks Jaime to take her to the nightclub so she can speak with Mrs. Rogers’s husband, Pietro Alvarez. As she waits for him, she recollects her memories of working in a nightclub, where she wanted to be a singer. (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

4. As the baby grows, Tish becomes aware of both her body changing as well as the baby’s presence. Her father urges her to quit her job so she can take care of the baby, as he sees this as her “job” for Fonny. She uses this time to visit Fonny in jail every day. (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

5. Sharon visits Mrs. Rogers in a favella in San Juan. She tries to convince her that it could not have been Fonny who raped her, since she did not see his face clearly; however, Mrs. Rogers, who is meek and emotional during the confrontation, insists that it was him. Despite various tactics of persuasion, Sharon is unsuccessful. (Part 1, Pages 135-174)

Part 2, Pages 177-197

Reading Check

1. Masturbation (Part 2, Pages 177-197)

2. Because it only had one Black man (Part 2, Pages 177-197)

3. “Is there not a righteous one among them?” (Part 2, Pages 177-197)

Short Answer

1. Fonny dreams he is starting to chisel Tish’s image from wood; however, he does not want to “defile” the wood before the wood “speaks” to him. As he begins to start the sculpture, he wakes up in his jail cell. (Part 2, Pages 177-197)

2. The trial is postponed because Mrs. Rogers has a miscarriage and an emotional crisis and cannot be located in Puerto Rico. As a result, Fonny will need to wait in jail until the trial, unless he is released on bail—however, the bail amount is very high. (Part 2, Pages 177-197)