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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 Mother call her home in Part Four?

2. What does Aunt Frances confide to Alice during their last visit in the book?

3. How does Alice's Walter die?

4. What does one of Mother's friends ask Alice about?

5. How do Alice and her Walter each deal with their troubled relationship?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the circumstances of Arthur's death.

2. How has Mother and Alice's relationship changed when they are living on different coasts?

3. Describe Alice's coping mechanism for dealing with hurtful memories of people in her past.

4. What does Mr. Early represent to Alice?

5. How is Arthur's death handled by Alice's family?

6. Explain why Alice finds herself in a lawyer's office when she is 30-years-old.

7. Why is Nonna kinder to Alice than she is to Mother?

8. Is Mother's interpretation of father's death believable?

9. Describe the relationship between Mother and Nonna.

10. Who is the most positive father figure in Alice's life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Fiveys seem to struggle to communicate with one another.

1) How is Nonna's inability to speak reflect on the Fiveys?

2) How do different members of Alice's family attempt to communicate their love for each other?

3) Which member of the family is the best and worst communicator? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Many characters in Florida seem to act the way they do because of painful experiences in their lives. Select three of the following characters. For each, describe the pain that leads them to act and behave in the manner they do and analyze the amount of power they have to choose differently: Mother, Alice, Walter, Nonna, Uncle Billy, the Unreliables.

(see the answer keys)

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