Fundamentals of the Catholic FaithName: ______

Sr. Maria Sophia Gerlach, CSFN

Reflection: GodBless the Child (20 points)

Choose enough questions to add to 20 points (questions have different point values). Be sure it is clear which question you are answering. Give a comprehensive answer to each question, being sure to include examples from the movie.

Please type your responses.

  1. Name some realities of life for Theresa and Hilary that probably would not occur to anyone not in their situation. Why would it not occur to us to think about these things? Why is it important to take these things into consideration when we think about persons living in poverty? (10 points)
  1. The women at the first shelter were taken aback at the fact that Theresa has a job. How does this reaction not help the situation? Describe and explain. (5 points)
  1. What are the almost immediate emotional effects on Theresa? On Hilary? (5 points)
  1. How would you feel if a stranger in the shelter offered you childcare? What other options would you have? (5 points)
  1. When he was talking with Hilary, Kenny (the teenage boy who was watching her for a day) said, “I’m not going to let this happen to me,” referring to being poor. Is it that simple? Explain. (5 points)
  1. “We should have a check ready for you in about four weeks.” Put yourself in Theresa’s place, and respond. (5 points)
  1. “Until I tell you differently, you stay next to me every minute.” Why does Theresa have to say this to Hilary? Discuss. (5 points)
  1. “I can’t get a job unless I have a place, and I can’t get a place unless I have a job.” Discuss this cycle, which is called the “cycle of poverty,” beginning with this sentence. (10 points)
  1. How soon did their physical appearance change? Why? What are the repercussions for looking for respect from others? (5 points)
  1. Discuss the effect of having their own place, even given the state it is in, on both Theresa and Hilary. Be sure to include ups and downs. (10 points)
  1. Put yourself in the position of the mail carrier on that street, on the day welfare checks are delivered. Write your journal entry about that experience. Compare it to other streets you may deliver mail to, in more affluent parts of town. (10 points)
  1. Why did the mom across the way have to lock the fridge? Discuss. (5 points)
  1. What is Richard’s dad’s “beef” with the world? Explain, giving details/quotes from the film. How is it easy to fall into that perspective? (10 points)
  1. Richard: “It doesn’t seem to make any difference, because every day’s the same…” Discuss Richard’s changing attitudes on life, and how they have developed through the film. (10 points)
  1. What happens after Theresa calls the department of health? Discuss the implications. (5 points)
  1. The final decision Theresa has to make is the crux of this story. Discuss how a mother might come to this decision. Recall the conversation Theresa had with Hilary in the diner, when she said, “I’d never leave you. You’re what keeps me going from day to day. You’re what makes me smile. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you.” (10 points)