Although The School for Good Mothers’s instructors seem to think the A. I. dolls are not “real” children, the mothers beg to differ. Write an essay arguing why the dolls are real children, using evidence from the text.

In what ways does the school resemble a prison, and what is the significance of this parallel?

How are the fathers in the novel treated differently from the mothers, and what does this show about the cultural expectations placed on motherhood?