There Will Be No Miracles Here

Discuss the role that religion plays in Gerald’s worldview and behavior as reflected in the text. In doing so, consider how the answer may evolve as Gerald matures and gains experience. To what extent does Gerald’s perspective on such matters in the final chapter connect with, reinforce, or repudiate his childhood views as expressed in the Prologue?

Gerald’s sexual partners and apparently all his friends in the book are male. However, there are several very important women in the narrative. These include Gerald’s mother, both of his grandmothers, and his sister. Brenda Cox and Doris Archer also play pivotal roles later in the book. Does the book present a fair and appropriately nuanced view of such women? How do they compare, in terms of complexity of portrayal, with the male characters presented in the book?

When the Black Men’s Union hosts an event for Black women, Gerald observes that they frequently endure even greater disadvantage than Black men. In your opinion, does Gerald adequately address this topic throughout the book? Provide at least two specific examples from the text to support your view. What about the book as a whole supports your view that the topic does or does not require more attention?

Gerald’s homosexuality becomes clear to the reader by the time Gerald is 13, and it remains highly relevant to the narrative in the final chapter. How does Gerald’s sexuality affect his life story? To what extent does the effect depend on Gerald’s personal choices about hiding or announcing his homosexuality? To what extent does it reflect prevailing norms in the nation at the time, or in his community? Do you think these norms have changed in the years since?

Gerald’s race is plainly important to his experience and his identity. It functions differently in his childhood than it does once he arrives at Yale. However, as Gerald notes, his experience at Yale is also very much shaped by his class background. Describe how Gerald’s class background and his race impact his experience at Yale and after Yale.

Gerald discusses being a symbol, especially with regard to himself and President Barak Obama. What does he mean when he talks about a person as a symbol? Is such a role desirable or undesirable? At what point in the book might Gerald be most likely to agree with you?

Early portions of the book detail Gerald’s upbringing with different people acting as his guardian at different times. These include his mother (Debra), his father (Rod), his grandmother (Granny), and his sister (Tashia). Briefly characterize Gerald’s relationship with each of these guardians while noting which period in his life you are referring to. Then, consider the adolescent and adult Gerald’s relationships with Red and River, and his friendship with Elijah at Yale. How do these later relationships seem to mimic aspects of Gerald’s earlier relationships with his family? How do you think Gerald’s choices and behaviors in these later relationships are affected by deficiencies in his childhood relationships with caretakers? For example, you might consider whether Gerald rebelled against failures by a parent, or attempted to correct such failures, through his actions in a later relationship.

Gerald suggests that much of his outward success and inward “death” resulted from his tendency to conform to the expectations of others. Identify two or three of the strongest expectations to which Gerald conformed himself. Then, consider the extent to which nonconformity may have led to a different outcome with respect to each source of pressure. Gerald broadly suggests that nonconformity and self-awareness are the antidote to the sense of disconnection and loneliness, but he does not detail specific instances in which he believes a different choice would have produced a better outcome. Having identified several such specific instances, do you think they support or undermine Gerald’s broad conclusion that more nonconformity would have benefited him?