Quicksand

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“The Lives of Biracial Americans Today—In Their Own Words”  

In this activity, students will investigate how the reality of being biracial in America has evolved since the 1920s and will collect and present the voices of biracial Americans.

Throughout the novel, Helga struggles with her belonging as a biracial person in both predominantly white as well as African American communities. What is it like to be a biracial person in US society today?

Researching with your classmates, you will find words, stories, and even photographs or other primary sources from biracial Americans. Allow them to tell the story of their biracial American lives. How have they faced racism in their lives? Have they ever “passed” as a particular race?

Present their words, properly cited, for your classmates to view. Think about how their experience differs from what Helga went through. What did they have in common?

Take time to view your classmates’ presentations and share your thoughts about their presentations. What similarities do you find in the stories? What differences are there?  

Teaching Suggestion: This activity invites students to apply their research and presentation skills to the text’s themes of The Impact of Racism in America and The Importance of Color. There are many public figures students could be interested in researching: Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, Kamala Harris, Dwayne Johnson, and Naomi Osaka, to name just a few. You may wish to steer them toward this resource from PEW Research or this one from NBC News.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with difficulty with reading comprehension might benefit from focusing on the video from the PEW Research Center linked above. The teacher may want to help students capture words from the participants on a whiteboard or a shared document. For instance, post the statement from the video: “Sometimes I identify as white because it’s easier.” Ask students for reflections on this statement—if they feel it is important, they can include it in their presentation. Continue this process as a group.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout the novel, Helga seems to be simultaneously interested and frightened of pursuing a sexual relationship with a man.

• How does Helga’s relationship with her sexuality affect the way that she views men? (topic sentence)
• Select one of the men that Helga encounters in the novel and analyze her reaction to a possible relationship with this person.
• How does Helga’s relationship with sexuality and men speak to the larger theme of The Ongoing Repercussions of Puritanism Upon Sexuality?

2. Helga follows a careful pattern of behavior when she is about to withdraw from a community.

• What is the common reason for Helga’s withdrawing from a person or place? (topic sentence)
• Cite any instance in which she does so over the course of the novel and specify which steps she takes as she approaches her departure from the person and/or place.
• How does Helga’s tendency to withdraw express the novel’s theme of The Impact of Racism in America?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider how the novel grapples with the question of what it means to be Black. What realization does Helga come to regarding this meaning? How does this meaning change as Helga moves to different cities and countries? Explain.

2. Helga is both drawn to and repelled by certain aspects of both Black and white culture. How does this liminal position connect with her biracial identity? How does the duality of white and Black culture oscillate throughout the novel?

3. Throughout the novel, Helga is supported by various communities. What are some examples of the benevolence that Helga receives? How would the novel change if Helga did not receive various forms of support? Explain.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following best describes the function of Helen’s room after her working day?

A) A reminder of life’s travesties

B) A refuge from the world’s worries

C) A continuation of her work stresses

D) An indicator of her social standing

2. Which of the following words best describes the tone of the preacher’s sermon who visits Naxos school?

A) Apologetic

B) Benevolent

C) Pejorative

D) Mournful

3. Which of the following words best describes Helga?

A) Forthright

B) Lackadaisical

C) Timid

D) Foolish

4. Why does Helga start attending church services in Chicago?

A) Because she hears God’s calling

B) Because her roommates pressure her

C) Because she hopes to meet generous people there

D) Because her soul is weary

5. Which of the following errors is Mrs. Hayes-Rore guilty of?

A) Shoplifting

B) Plagiarism

C) Extortion

D) Embezzlement

6. Which of the following words best describes Anne’s behavior regarding her actions and beliefs on the subject of race relations?

A) Hypocritical

B) Discouraged

C) Lenient

D) Endearing

7. What feeling does Helga chase throughout the novel?

A) Being understood

B) Being comforted

C) Being romantic

D) Being conservative

8. While at the jazz club, Helga observes the following: “When suddenly the music died, she dragged herself back to the present with a conscious effort; and a shameful certainty that not only had she been in the jungle, but that she had enjoyed it, began to taunt her. She hardened her determination to get away. She wasn’t, she told herself, a jungle creature.” Which of the following phrases best describes the author’s purpose in this excerpt?

A) To share Helga’s desire to make new friends

B) To express Helga’s belief that white people are animals

C) To emphasize Helga’s feeling of isolation in her community

D) To introduce Helga’s interest in jazz music

9. Helga bemuses the following thought in Denmark: “Incited. That was it, the guiding principle of her life in Copenhagen. She was incited to make an impression, a voluptuous impression. She was incited to inflame attention and admiration.” Which of the following literary terms describes the sentence structure in the above quote?

A) Parallelism

B) Paradox

C) Personification

D) Parable

10. In considering a return to America, Helga struggles with the following thought process: “Go back to America, where they hated Negroes! To America, where Negroes were not people. To America, where Negroes were allowed to be beggars only, of life, of happiness, of security. To America, where everything had been taken from those dark ones, liberty, respect, even the labor of their hands. To America, where, if one had Negro blood, one mustn’t expect money, education, or, sometimes, even work whereby one might earn bread.” Which of the following literary terms does Helga use in her inner monologue?

A) Allegory

B) Alliteration

C) Allusion

D) Anaphora

11. Which of the following reasons best states why Helga returns to America after living in Denmark?

A) She misses being around people of her race.

B) She realizes she is in love with Dr. Anderson.

C) She wants to attend Anne’s wedding.

D) She desires to live in Harlem again.

12. Why does Anne not protest when Helga moves to a Harlem hotel?

A) Anne is moving to Chicago.

B) The move would be good for Helga’s career. 

C) Anne is a newly married wife.

D) Helga planned to move years before.

13. Which of the following best describes Helga’s view of marriage?

A) A relatively easy conquest

B) A momentously important occasion

C) A necessary rite of passage

D) A serious union of love

14. Which two moments happen to Helga at the same time in the novel?

A) Her marriage to Dr. Anderson and departure from Copenhagen

B) Her introduction to religion and renunciation of materialism

C) Her departure from Naxos and arrival in Copenhagen

D) Her living situation with Anne and her arrival in Chicago

15. Which of the following is true of Helga?

A) She is drawn to the novelty of new experiences.

B) She is interested in the arguments related to race and equality.

C) She is invested in the religious education of young African American men.

D) She is disgusted by the trendiness of consumerism and fashion.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. Trace Helga’s geographical journey through the novel. How does each physical location connect with a specific feeling that Helga has in this place regarding her identity?

2. Larsen uses numerous personifications in the novel to convey important information creatively. Select 3 examples of personification from the text and analyze the effect of what they are trying to convey.