Home of the Brave

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the kind person whom Kek refers to as the “helping man” in Poem 1?

2. In Poem 3, what prompts Kek to ask who killed all the trees?

3. When Kek looks into the eyes of the cow in Poem 5, what does he see?

4. Whose familiar voice does Kek hear when he arrives at his new apartment in Minnesota?

5. What are the “marks of manhood” that Kek observes on his cousin Ganwar? (Poem 7)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Kek mistakenly think that “heck” is a useful term? (Poem 4)

2. What are some of the first lessons that Kek learns about life in America, as described in Poem 8? How do they compare to the lessons he learned as a child in Africa?

3. Why does Kek struggle to find peace in his new life, despite being reunited safely with his aunt and cousin in Minnesota?

Paired Resource

Minnesota’s Refugee and Immigration Population: Africa (Sudanese)

• The International Institute of Minnesota, an organization similar to the Refugee Resettlement Center that Dave works for, offers information on Sudanese conflict over the years.
• By exploring the resources and information at the link (including their profile of the Sudanese community in Minnesota), you will have a greater appreciation of the challenges involved in Kek’s learning to Assimilate to a New Home and Culture.
• Which of these struggles as described on The International Institute of Minnesota do you see depicted in Kek’s story, particularly in Part 1?

“Scarification“

• Scarification is a tradition practiced among many cultures and communities around the world. In this virtual collection curated by the Pitt Rivers Museum, you can learn a brief overview and history of the various cultures that practice scarification, and why.
• Ganwar’s forehead scars, as observed by Kek in this section, are a reminder of the home and culture they left behind in Sudan.
• What about this tradition in particular might make it more difficult for Sudanese individuals like Ganwar to Adjust to a New Home and Culture in America? How could this tradition create a divide between those refugees who have partaken in the ceremony (like Ganwar) and those who have not (like Kek)?

Part 2

Reading Check

1. How is Diane, the worker at the Refugee Resettlement Center, helping Kek?

2. How many different languages do the 15 students in Kek’s ESL class speak?

3. Which cafeteria item, which Hannah refers to as “one of the five major food groups,” does Kek particularly enjoy? (Poem 25)

4. Who owns the farm that Kek and Hannah visit to get a closer look at the cow?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does a new set of school clothes bring about an identity crisis in Kek?

2. Why does the lunchtime conversation in Poem 26 suddenly cause Kek to lose his appetite? What does Kek share with the group, and how do they respond? Be sure to mention all who are present in the conversation.

3. In Part 2, Ganwar struggles to Assimilate and Adjust to a New Home. Contrast his interaction with American Society with Kek’s. Analyze the way each boy rejects or embraces the culture of their new home in this section of the novel, providing textual evidence for each.

Paired Resource

“Migrant and Displaced Children“

• In this fact sheet, UNICEF provides vital statistics about migrant and refugee children in America
• The included resources explore the difficulties migrants and refugee children like Kek face and the efforts organizations undertake to offer aid. This connects to the theme of Assimilation: Adjusting to a New Home and Culture.
• What in this UNICEF article surprised or shocked you about the living conditions of migrant and refugee children like Kek?

Part 3

Reading Check

1. What does the word “gol” mean in Sudanese Arabic?

2. In Poem 44, what false assumption does the bully make about Kek?

3. What does a visit to the school library prompt Kek to remember about his mother?

4. In Poem 50, what do the three boys shout at Kek as he hands Hannah a gift of chocolate candy?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Ganwar shows Lou his missing hand as an excuse for not being able to work on her farm, she responds with “Guess you’ll have to use the other one.” (Poem 41) How does Ganwar receive this comment, and what larger effect does it have on his character development?

2. Reread Poem 42, in which Kek’s class visits the zoo. What are some of the differences Kek recognizes between himself and his American classmates? Provide at least two examples with textual evidence.

3. Summarize Kek’s reaction when he goes to the grocery store for the first time. Why does the grocery store represent “easy hope” to Kek?

Paired Resource

“Refugees from South Sudan Living in Omaha United by Basketball“

• This TODAY video highlights a group of refugees who, like Kek, found themselves in the American Midwest after fleeing war-torn Sudan.
• The group profiled in this video highlights the importance of Family and Friends and shared interests (in this case, basketball) on their journey to Assimilation into their new home.
• How does the story of these real-life teenage refugees from South Sudan compare with Kek’s? Do you think if Kek had engaged in group sports it would have made the assimilation process any smoother?

Part 4

Reading Check

1. Why does Lou insist in Poem 65 that Kek, Ganwar, and Hannah travel with Gol by foot instead of in the cow trailer?

2. In Poem 66, where does Gol become stuck, causing police officers to have to come in and help?

3. What nickname do the police officers use to mock Gol in Poem 67?

4. Why does Kek feel like the President of the United States on the last leg of his journey to the zoo?

5. In Poem 67, who does Kek say would have loved to have been there to escort Gol to the zoo?

6. Why is the zoo reluctant to accept Gol?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the symbolic importance of Kek handing over Gol to the zoo for safekeeping? What does this show about how Kek has developed as a character over the duration of the story?

2. The Epilogue happens 15 months after Kek deposits Gol at the zoo. Summarize the ending of this novel. Is it a tragic ending? A hopeful one? Or is it somewhere in between?

Recommended Next Reads 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

• In this Newbery Award-winning novel, Katherine Applegate tells the story of Ivan, a gorilla. After 27 years in an enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, and sees their home from a different perspective.
• As with Home of the Brave, Applegate ruminates on the concept of Home. She also builds upon themes of Family and Friendship, in relation to the concept of home.
• The One and Only Ivan on SuperSummary.com

Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard by Mawi Asgedom

• Of Beetles and Angels is the incredible true story of Mawi Asgedom, a young boy who fled from civil war in East Africa, only to land in a refugee camp in Sudan. He eventually settled with his family in Illinois in an impoverished community of other East African refugees and, against the odds, secured a spot at Harvard University—finally achieving the American Dream.
• In this true story of an African refugee in America who, like Kek, was fleeing difficult circumstances, there is a strong theme of Assimilation, as well as themes of Holding on to Hope and Family and Friendship—all important in Home of the Brave as well.
• Of Beetles and Angels on SuperSummary.com