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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Janey find when she takes a walk?

2. What does Janey want to buy with her nickel?

3. What is Janey's father's first name?

4. What does Janey find notable about a scene that she sees?

5. What are Janey and her family doing as the story begins?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Janey wish for a brother or a sister?

2. How is the Larkin family's stress exhibited in Chapter 3?

3. What is known about Janey's mother and the woman she calls Mom?

4. What does Mom give to Janey to take to the fair?

5. Why does Janey decide not to make any effort to see if there are any kids living in the Mexican family nearby?

6. What is Bounce's secretive behavior about the rent and why does Janey not like him?

7. Who is Bounce Reyburn and how do the Larkins encounter him?

8. How does Janey finally decide to spend her own nickel?

9. What has Janey always longed to do in a permanent place?

10. What is unspoken between Janey and Lupe regarding the ride ticket that Lupe gives Janey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Need takes on an almost human persona in this book. What was the source of the Larkins' need? How were others like them also haunted by need? What is this literary technique called? Cite examples that support this position.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the significance of the book's title. What does the author mean by calling it simply BLUE WILLOW. What is she trying to emphasize with this emphatic style? Suggest three alternate titles for this book with supporting rationale for each one.

Essay Topic 3

What is the greatest lesson Janey learns from her father? Is it true that important lessons are also painful ones? What will Janey always recall about her father from their experiences in California during the Great Depression?

(see the answer keys)

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