Pre-Reading Assignment for
Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
1. Examine the title and cover of the book. From your observation, what do you think
the book will be about?
2. The story takes place during a time of heavy racial discrimination. Please read the
following information and do some additional research about this time period and provide
two facts you discovered.
Poll Tax
In the past, several states levied poll taxes, and those who did not pay the poll tax could
not vote. The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratifies in 1946, made it illegal
for a state to use payment of taxes as a requirement to vote. In a 1966 U.S. Supreme
Court decision, the poll tax as a requirement for voting in state and local elections was
outlawed.
Discrimination Against Blacks
Though reforms and Constitutional Amendments following the U.S. Civil War provided
rights of citizenships, voting, and equal protection to blacks, there was growth of
discrimination in the late 1800s. Segregation and loss of voting rights for blacks
occurred in the South. In 1890, Mississippi adopted measures including poll taxes and
reading and writing tests to be eligible to vote, which in effect ended voting by blacks.
The 1896 Supreme Court decision in Plessy vs. Ferguson argued that segreration in itself
did not represent inequality and that separate public facilities could be provided for the
races as long as the facilities were equal.
During the early 1900s, discrimination against blacks in the South increased with
segregation required in all Southern states. The Ku Klux Klan attempted to keep blacks
from voting with threats, beatings, and killings.
The economic hardships of the Great Depression of the 1930s fell hardest on the blacks
who became the chief victims of job discrimination.
The Voting Rights Acts of 1965 eliminated many of the legal obstacles to black voting.
Amendment 13
Abolition of Slavery
Amendment 14
Civil Rights—former slaves are given rights of citizenship
Amendment 15
Black Suffrage—rights to vote cannot be denied
Amendment 24
Forbids poll tax as a condition for voting
Fact 1__________________________________________________________________
Fact 2 __________________________________________________________________
3. What do the following terms mean to you?
a.) Injustice
b.) Race relations in the South of the 1930s
c.) Criminal Justice system
d.) Jury Trials
4. Using a dictionary or www.dictionary.com to complete the following chart.
Define the following words listed that are found in the text.
Vexed
Clemency
Immunity
Nonchalant
Brusque
Vigil
Tumultuous
Adversary
Malign
Reprimand
As you read the novel, Let the Circle be Unbroken by Mildred Taylor, complete the
following questions to assist you in the unfolding of the plot.
Chapter 1
1. Who is telling this story?
2. What prized possession did “Son-Boy” show off to to the Logan Children? What
effect did it have on Cassie?
3. How did Papa think the baby got up into the church belfry? Why did he think
Wordell was up there with her?
Chapters 2-3
1. Why didn’t Mr. and Mrs. Logan, among others, think that Avery would not get a
fair trial?
2. What information is presented in the court case that SHOULD help defend T.J., is
overlooked and as a result, T.J. is found guilty?
Chapters 4-5
1. What is the conflict between landowners and sharecroppers that emerges in
chapter 4? In other words, what problem is Papa having with those who are
trying to take his land?
2. What was unique about the Logan home?
3. Why do the men from the Farmer Workers’ Union visit Papa?
Chapters 6-7
1. At church, what does Bud tell everyone that stops the conversation in midair?
2. How is Reverend Gabson’s sermon echoed in the rest of chapters 6 and 7? What
events, actions and conversations can be tied to the theme of the sermon?
3. Why did Mrs. Lee Annie’s father vote and she doesn’t vote?
Chapters 8-9
1. What changes occur during chapter 8 in the household?
2. Why does Cassie act the way she does to Suzella?
3. Why does Stacy leave a note for his family? DO you think he was right to leave?
Does he have good reasons for his actions?
Chapter 10
1. Once Papa arrives home, what actions are taken to find Stacy?
2. Why is the family upset by Stacy leaving?
Chapter 11
1.. What was Wordell’s message to Cassie when he told her, “ And he [Stacey] die, you’d
live… ‘cause that’s how the sun shines?”
Chapter 12
1. Why did Stuart Walker humiliate Uncle Bud in the presence of Suzella?
Chapters 13, 14
1. Why had Stacey and Moe run away from the Troussant sugar cane plantation?
2. Why are these “displaced” families gathering in the city of Strawberry?
3. What does Mr. Granger say that causes the families to break out into a riot?
Post Reading Questions and Activities
1. Experiment with Symbols
In literature, a symbol is anything that has its original meaning and then represents
something else beyond its literal meaning. Example, the dove stands for peace.
When you see an American flag or bald eagle, you think “freedom”. While reading
this novel, there were many examples of symbolism—where certain events or objects
had more than just the literal meaning. In the examples listed below, explain what
each object/event may symbolize.
a. Strawberry
b. the Logan farm
c. the forest
d. the church
e. Stacey’s knife
f. Yellow Ford