Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City

“Code-switching” comes up throughout Invisible Child, especially during Dasani’s time at Hershey. How does Dasani’s attitude toward code-switching change as her education progresses? How does the need to code-switch challenge her sense of identity and belonging?

Elliott mentions that during Dasani’s time at Hershey, “grit” is a popular concept in education, largely due to the influence of “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” a 2013 Ted Talk by psychology professor Angela Lee Duckworth. Does learning “grit” ultimately help Dasani in pursuing her goals? Is it a concept that could help Dasani’s siblings and parents in their own pursuits? Support your analysis with evidence from the text.

Educators and professionals in Dasani’s life often attempt to help her overcome her circumstances by providing strategies and concepts and having her engage in activities. Based on evidence from the text, which strategies make a lasting difference in her life and which do not? What are the important differences between the successful and unsuccessful strategies?

Elliott describes her approach in Invisible Child as immersive journalism. Using evidence from the text, analyze the limitations and advantages to this approach in developing a project like Invisible Child.

The book is organized into seven “parts” or sections with a very specific chronological order. How does this narrative structure contribute to the book’s themes? How does it influence your understanding of Dasani’s story?

Compare and contrast the story of one of Dasani’s siblings with Dasani’s own story. What differences do you see? What opportunities do they have access to and what obstacles must they overcome that are different from Dasani’s? What accounts for these differences?

This study guide includes three themes that Invisible Child explores. If given the chance to add a fourth theme, what would you focus on? Where do you see evidence from the text that this is an important theme developed in the book?

Chanel claims that it “is her boys […] who carry the deepest scars” (615). The three boys in her life might include Papa, her only son with Supreme, Khaliq, her stepson through Supreme, and Supreme himself. Does this seem like an accurate statement based on evidence from the text? Why or why not?