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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 Dorothea do when she finds Artie tearing up the house?

2. What did Echo remember about the trip back east?

3. What kind of winner was Echo?

4. Why does Echo buy the Robinson Crusoe book?

5. How did the family end up back in Dorothea's house back east?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Artie when her mother reappears in her life?

2. What do all of the "educational stops " which the Westbrook women made have in common?

3. How do Artie and Dorothea feel about Echo's winning of the spelling bee?

4. Why did Dorothea change her granddaughter's name to Echo?

5. How is Artie's choice of seat at the Spelling Bee a metaphor for her life?

6. Why does Dorothea cut a lock of Artie's hair?

7. Do you think Artie realizes the importance of the spelling bee to Echo?

8. Why do you think that Echo put on the wings in the beginning of scene 5?

9. Why do you think Artie left her daughter with Dorothea, despite her own traumatic childhood with her mother?

10. Why does Echo agree to work towards the National Spelling Bee?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Artie said she could remember everything and was against total recall as a form of learning. Despite this, she drilled Echo repeatedly on spelling words. Why do you think she chose to teach Echo in this way? What other factors may have played into her decision?

Essay Topic 2

The homemade wings reappear throughout the play and have importance and meaning for the characters. Discuss the wings from each of the character's perspective.

Essay Topic 3

Dorothea gives a lengthy discussion about Echo's name and why she named her this. Echo's name is connected to her grandmother's expectations of her and Echo's later decisions in life. Discuss how Echo's name influenced her.

(see the answer keys)

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