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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. Whose letters to Rachel become less frequent and then stop altogether?

2. Who sends Rachel letters frequently?

3. What does Henry tell Rachel about her sister Sarah in Chapter 10?

4. What is Rachel teased about in Chapter 12?

5. Who is the letter from that Haleola reads while Pono sleeps in Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mother Marianne react when she sees the girls returning from the party in Chapter 10?

2. After Pono's death, what does Haleola ask Rachel?

3. Why does Catherine take Henry to Kalawao during his visit to Moloka'i? What family news does Henry share with Rachel during his visit?

4. What do Rachel and her friends decide to sneak away to do in Chapter 10?

5. What happens to Harry Woo at school in Chapter 3? What rumor circulates the following day?

6. What does Rachel decide to do for Haleola's funeral?

7. Why does Rachel want to return to Moloka'i after sneaking away?

8. How is Rachel's family affected after she is discovered to have leprosy?

9. What is Rachel's father's job? What does he bring her when he returns home in Chapter 1?

10. Why does Rachel decide to run away in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of escape. Why does Rachel yearn to escape her life? How does she go about doing so? How is she finally able to escape Moloka'i? How does she feel once she has left?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and interpret Rachel's growth as a character throughout the novel. How has she grown, and why? Compare Rachel when the reader is first introduced to her to how she is by the end of the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of religion in the novel. Is religion an important element of the story? Why or why not? Is Rachel a religious person? How does religion influence her choices in life?

(see the answer keys)

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