Take My Hand Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters & Themes
Test your knowledge of Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Take My Hand with this 20-question quiz covering plot, characters, themes, and synthesis. Answers and explanations are at the bottom. For deeper analysis, see the book overview and the ending explained. If you get stuck, the questions and answers page may help—but try the quiz first!
Each question is grounded in the novel's plot and themes as outlined in the study guide. Good luck!
Plot & Sequence (Questions 1–8)
1. What event does the epigraph reference?
A) The assassination of Medgar Evers
B) Martin Luther King Jr.'s reported last words on April 4, 1968
C) The Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision
D) The start of the Tuskegee syphilis study
2. In what year does the novel's main narrative begin? (Short answer)
3. What is Civil's immediate reaction after her first visit to the Williams home?
A) She feels proud of her work
B) She is shaken to realize she injected a girl who does not menstruate
C) She decides to report the family to social services
D) She is relieved that the girls are healthy
4. What does Civil do after learning about the Depo-Provera concerns from Ty and the Ralseys?
A) She immediately quits her job
B) She stops giving the shots and later takes birth control pills from the supply closet but never gives them to the girls
C) She confronts Mrs. Seager and gets her fired
D) She continues giving the shots but documents side effects
5. What happens to Erica and India at Professional Hospital?
A) They receive routine checkups
B) They undergo tubal ligations without informed consent
C) They are treated for infections
D) They are given birth control pills
6. What is the outcome of the federal lawsuit against the government?
A) The case is dismissed
B) The judge grants summary judgment and permanently enjoins federal funding for sterilizations of legally incompetent persons
C) The Williams family receives a large monetary settlement
D) The clinic is shut down immediately
7. In 2016, why does Civil decide to travel south? (Short answer)
8. What does Civil do with the key to the Dixie Court apartment after Mace leaves? (Short answer)
Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)
9. Why does Civil initially hide her new Dodge Colt and ask to trade cars with her mother?
A) She is embarrassed by the car's condition
B) She wants to avoid drawing attention due to class differences
C) She plans to sell it
D) She prefers driving a manual transmission
10. Why does Mrs. Seager warn Civil about her place?
A) To enforce racial hierarchy and discourage ideas above her station
B) To encourage Civil to take on more responsibility
C) To compliment her nursing skills
D) To ask for a favor
11. Why does Civil decide to help the Williams family move to public housing?
A) Because she wants to befriend them
B) To offset her mistake of giving a birth control shot to a girl who wasn't menstruating
C) Because Mrs. Seager ordered her to do so
D) To impress her father
12. Why does Mace initially reject Civil's help with the apartment?
A) He dislikes Civil personally
B) He resents accepting help and feels pride
C) He prefers living in the shack
D) He is afraid of the government
13. Why does Civil decide not to have biological children? (Short answer)
Theme & Symbol (Questions 14–17)
14. What does the hymn “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” symbolize in the novel?
A) The joy of dancing
B) Faith, comfort, and the civil rights movement
C) The importance of education
D) The power of friendship
15. What does Mrs. Williams's rocking chair represent?
A) Her desire to move
B) Continuity and memory
C) A symbol of poverty
D) Her love of music
16. What does the beach scene symbolize?
A) The beauty of nature
B) Erasure of Black spaces and memory
C) A romantic getaway
D) The girls' first time seeing the ocean
17. What does the plum lipstick Civil buys at the end of the novel symbolize?
A) Her desire to look young
B) A gesture of self-care and moving forward
C) A gift for Erica
D) Her regret about the past
Synthesis (Questions 18–20)
18. How does the novel connect to the real Relf v. Weinberger case? (Short answer)
19. What does the novel suggest about the role of nurses in medical ethics? (Short answer)
20. How does the novel address the theme of reproductive justice? (Short answer)
Answer Key
1. B – The epigraph records Martin Luther King Jr.'s reported last words on April 4, 1968, asking Ben to play “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” beautifully.
2. 1973 – The main narrative begins in March 1973, nine months after Civil graduates from Tuskegee.
3. B – After administering the shot to Erica, Civil learns India hasn't started menstruating and realizes she injected a girl who doesn't menstruate, leaving her shaken.
4. B – After learning about the FDA-unapproved drug and its risks, Civil stops giving Depo shots and later takes birth control pills from the supply closet but never gives them to the girls, instead writing false chart notes.
5. B – Mrs. Seager takes the girls to Professional Hospital where they undergo tubal ligations without informed consent; Civil discovers them post-surgery.
6. B – The judge grants summary judgment, permanently enjoins federal funding for sterilizations of legally incompetent persons, and allows the plaintiffs to proceed as a class.
7. Because she learns India is very sick with cancer – Two weeks before the trip, Civil learns India is very sick, which she takes as a sign to head south.
8. She returns it to the rental office – After Mace drives away, Civil walks to the rental office to return the key.
9. B – Civil hides her new Dodge Colt and trades cars to avoid drawing attention because of class differences; she wants to blend in with the community she serves.
10. A – Mrs. Seager warns Civil not to get ideas about her place, reinforcing racial hierarchy and discouraging Civil from overstepping.
11. B – Civil wants to offset her mistake of giving a birth control shot to a girl who wasn't menstruating; she hopes to improve the family's living conditions.
12. B – Mace resents accepting help and feels pride; he tells Civil they had a life before her and later admits he hated her at first.
13. Because of her experiences with the Williams sisters and her own abortion – Civil reflects that the sisters became two of the greatest loves and heartbreaks of her life, influencing her decision not to have biological children and shaping her capacity to love and mother her adopted daughter.
14. B – The hymn symbolizes faith, comfort, and the civil rights movement, as introduced in the epigraph and echoed throughout the novel.
15. B – Mrs. Williams keeps her rocker when moving, representing continuity and memory; it is a symbol of her past and family.
16. B – The beach scene recalls a colored beach named after Rosamond Johnson and the erasure of Black spaces, symbolizing lost history and memory.
17. B – Civil buys a plum lipstick and silver earrings before driving to Birmingham, symbolizing a gesture of self-care and moving forward as she seeks reconciliation with Ty.
18. The novel is loosely inspired by the real Relf v. Weinberger case – In June 1973, sisters Minnie Lee and Mary Alice Relf were sterilized without consent in Montgomery; the author imagined the nurse's perspective, creating Civil Townsend.
19. The novel suggests nurses can be complicit or resist – Civil and some nurses resist by stopping Depo shots and gathering evidence, while others like Val confess regret; the novel explores moral dilemmas and the pressure to follow authority.
20. The novel addresses reproductive justice through forced sterilization, lack of informed consent, and ongoing disparities – It highlights how poor Black women and girls are targeted, and the author's note connects to contemporary issues like prison sterilizations and maternal health disparities.
For further exploration, visit the book overview or the ending explained page.