71 pages • 2 hours read
Dolen Perkins-ValdezTake My Hand
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Take My Hand is based on the real-life 1973 case Relf v. Weinberger. How does Dolen Perkins-Valdez dramatize that case by using elements of character to round out the story and bring it to life?
One of the primary themes the novel addresses is how Systemic Racism in the US Healthcare System affects Black people. What are some of the specific effects of that racist system? Name some instances that illustrate the consequences of those effects in society today. Use outside research to support your response.
The novel is told through two timelines—1973 and 2016. How does that structure enhance the story?
The novel addresses some specific instances of racism in the US healthcare system: the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment and Henrietta Lacks’s “Mississippi appendectomy.” How does Perkins-Valdez use these historical events to support her narrative, and would the novel be as strong if those events were not mentioned?
Motherhood, family, and community are important themes in the novel. Discuss three characters and events that illustrate this theme.
The Ralseys’ plants play a symbolic role in the novel. What do they symbolize, and why are they important to Civil?
By the end of the novel, Civil recognizes that good intentions do not always bring positive results. Name some of the characters, and their actions, who have good intentions but end up doing harm instead of good.
Anne is a silent character in the novel, yet her presence is essential as Civil’s main addressee. Why does Perkins-Valdez give Civil a specific addressee rather than having her simply narrate the story without the presence of a “you”?
Civil never marries in the novel, nor does she have biological children. What factors contribute to those choices, and is she satisfied with them?
What role did the Black Panthers play in the years after the civil rights movement? Using outside research, chart their activity and influence in the 1970s and discuss how this is relevant to the novel.
