The Boy in the Black Suit

Character-driven novels like The Boy in the Black Suit often offer multiple themes. What theme, phrase, or statement can readers extract from the novel on the topic of loneliness? How does this theme idea connect to the motif of solitude? Detail your response with a total of four to five events or character actions in the novel.

The chapter titles in The Boy in the Black Suit serve to foreshadow, set the mood, or highlight a theme or motif. Choose two to three chapter titles that establish the mood or theme of the chapter especially well; discuss with evidence from the chapter the ways in which the chapter title is effective.

Matt tells his own story in first-person point of view. Which secondary character would best be able to tell Matt’s story? Explain your reasoning with proof from the text. Include as part of your support a discussion on this secondary character’s traits and indirect characterization.

Create a list or chart that details each funeral Matt attends, beginning with his mother’s and ending with Andre Watson’s. Include the deceased’s name, the person Matt identifies as closest to the deceased, the mood or atmosphere of the funeral based on at least one supporting detail, and a brief description of Matt’s thoughts or reactions to the funeral’s events.

Matt narrates The Boy in the Black Suit in first-person, “I-voice” point of view. What character traits can readers infer from Matt’s voice? Discuss your ideas with support from the text. Select two to three examples of figurative language such as imagery in Matt’s storytelling. Do these examples align with the character traits you determined, or juxtapose against them?

The book’s title indicates that Matt’s black suit is an important part of his identity and coming-of-age experiences. The suit symbolizes his grieving process and sets a somber mood; Matt’s choice to dress in the suit each day for school as well as work represents his willingness to learn from his experiences. Create a different title for the novel that suggests symbolically some other facet of Matt’s experiences, personality, growth, or voice. Discuss your choice with three to four examples from the text as support.

Consider the setting descriptions for Mr. Ray’s home, Chris’s apartment building, Candy Man’s homeless shelter, and Love’s apartment. How do the respective settings within the novel help to indirectly characterize those associated with them? Discuss traits readers can infer about each character based on background setting.

Matt and Chris are good friends despite plenty of personality and background differences. Detail at least four differences between them by listing descriptive adjectives with text support for each character in a two-column T-chart. Add a summary in which you discuss the ways these character adjectives set up the two boys as dramatic foils (characters whose differences highlight each one’s traits).