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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. Who did Gwendolyn visit a few weeks before she was killed?

2. What was the name of Trethewey's grandfather, Gwendolyn's father, who Trethewey never met?

3. What was the name of the restaurant Gwendolyn worked at in Atlanta?

4. What nightmare did Trethewey have shortly after moving to Atlanta?

5. What state did Trethewey's parents get married in?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did it take longer than it might have for Trethewey to realize her father and mother had separated?

2. What does the photograph from May 1974 make plain to Trethewey when she looks at it now?

3. What monument was very close to the apartment where Trethewey's mother was killed?

4. What nightmare did Trethewey have shortly after moving to Atlanta?

5. What was Trethewey's last image of her mother while her mother was living?

6. What did Trethewey begin to notice when she was out as a child with each of her parents?

7. Why did the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross in the driveway of Trethewey's grandmother's house in the 1960s?

8. What did Trethewey want more than anything after moving to Atlanta?

9. Why did Gwendolyn not see her father after about age 16?

10. What was unusual about the plant Trethewey saved after her mother's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did the various people, from the police to the owners of Gwendolyn's apartment, treat Trethewey in the immediate aftermath of her mother's death in 1985? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What does the large birthmark on the back of Threthewey's leg symbolize for her, and how does it relate to her relationship with her mother? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Which extended family members of Trethewey's were most influential in her early life and upbringing, and why? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 676 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample