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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. People who act outside of the societal norm are referred to as what?

2. What activity does middle sister assert in Chapter 2 that she will never give up?

3. Middle sister finally reveals that she had been how old at the time of the mass-slaughter of animals in her neighborhood?

4. How many years older than the protagonist is maybe-boyfriend?

5. What malady does middle sister admit to having in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. What contrast does middle sister point out between da's level of openness in life and his level of openness in death?

2. What action does middle sister perform "without a shake" for "the first time in ages" (165) when the real milkman drops her off at home and why?

3. Which elements of middle sister's second interaction with the milkman make her feel relatively safe?

4. For what reason does middle sister discuss the activities that go on in the park where she likes to go for runs?

5. What is the ten-minute-area?

6. Which answers are said to be "acceptable" (72) when one is asked the color of the sky in middle sister's society?

7. What truths does middle sister reveal to ma during their first conversation about the milkman?

8. What horrific and significant event had occurred when middle sister was nine years old?

9. Which member of middle sister's family does she despise and why?

10. Describe an instance when sound is used to underscore a particular theme within Chapter 1.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what way does Burns utilize irony within the text? Discuss at least three uses of irony within Milkman and explore each instance's connection to larger themes contained within the piece.

Essay Topic 2

Look carefully at the passages of Milkman that describe the close relationship between middle sister and third brother-in-law. What is Burns’s purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between these two characters?

Essay Topic 3

How are the themes of eccentricity and conformity depicted within Burns’s Milkman?

(see the answer keys)

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