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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 play had Jo seen Shelley perform in?

2. Who is forced to audition for the school play with Bethie by his football coach?

3. Who is Ken Kaufman's brother?

4. What does Jo do the night Lynnette tells her she is going to sleep with her boyfriend?

5. What street is the Kaufman's new house on in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Jo is a young child and standing outside the Kaufman's new home on Alhambra Street for the first time, what makes Sarah so angry?

2. What kinds of protests does Jo attend in college, and what causes does she care most about?

3. How do Sarah's, Bethie's, and Jo's lives change when their father Ken unexpectedly dies?

4. Why does Sarah tell Jo and Bethie that Mel refused to give their father a loan some years before their father died?

5. What happens to Bethie when she goes to the Newport music festival in Part II?

6. In Part I, what happens that makes Jo want to run away from home?

7. What does Bethie think about what has become of Sarah in Part II?

8. What happens between Jo and Sarah at Thanksgiving dinner in Part II?

9. What news does Jo receive in the section of Part I titled "2015"?

10. What does Bethie remember about being Esther in the Hebrew School play when she was 11?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do Jo's early sexual experiences and relationship with Lynnette Bobeck affect her later attitudes towards romantic relationships with other women? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your opinions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Bethie's sexual abuse at the hands of her Uncle Mel affect her life, self-perception, and relationships afterwards? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does Weiner's choice to alternate between the viewpoints of Bethie and Jo throughout the novel affect the reader's experience of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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