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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 Arlette say that Nonna once did to Mother?

2. How does Alice describe Aunt Frances' and Uncle Billy's house when she first goes to stay with them?

3. What does Arlette suggest is the reason that Mother is mentally unstable?

4. What best describes Mother's life in the Mother-Arlette section of Part One?

5. What does Alice say is in it for her if Nonna dies?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are Mother's crystal glasses important to Alice?

2. Was Father a happy man?

3. How does Alice compare Walter and Father?

4. How would you describe Mother's relationships with men?

5. Describe the Big House.

6. Does Alice like living in Tuscon?

7. What do you think Alice's family was like before her father's death, based on information in the first chapter of the book?

8. How does Alice feel about going back to live with Mother after she is institutionalized and Alice moves in with Aunt Frances and Uncle Billy?

9. What kind of a person is Arlette?

10. How does Nonna feel about Mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Defining home and a place she belongs is not easy for Alice.

1) Compare and contrast the brownstone and Uncle Billy's house as homes for Alice.

2) Of all the places Alice lives, choose the two that most and least feel like home. Explain your reasoning.

3) Analyze the extent to which having Mother present is necessary for a house to feel like home to Alice at different times in her life.

Essay Topic 2

Symbolism is seen in both Mother's fondness for naming things and in the use of locations as chapter titles.

1) Compare and contrast the Emerald Gem and the Mouse.

2) How do Arlette's stories differ from the Big House chapters?

3) Define Mother via these items: the Magnavox, the sun box, and her lost glove.

Essay Topic 3

Does a setting create a character's experience or does a character impact and create parts of their setting? Using specific examples from the story, analyze the impact of setting on Alice in Florida.

(see the answer keys)

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