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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 Billie Jo do each day before and after school?

2. What are the spots on Daddy's face?

3. Which of the following does not catch on fire in the town?

4. What would Billie Jo like to see when she looks in the mirror?

5. What do Billie Jo and Daddy encounter on the way to a funeral?

Short Essay Questions

1. How can something as normal as rain be viewed as special to Billie Jo and the people in town?

2. What immediate plans to Billie Jo and Daddy make to begin healing?

3. How does Billie Jo assign human characteristics to her piano?

4. Why is the lack of cranberry sauce such a poignant lack at Christmas dinner?

5. How does Billie Jo block Louise's entry into a part of their lives?

6. What news does Mad Dog come to deliver to Billie Jo?

7. How do the children and the itinerant family interact with each other?

8. Who are the unexpected tenants of the schoolhouse for a couple weeks?

9. Who is Joe De La Flor and what hardship does he face regarding his cattle?

10. How does Billie Jo attempt to escape her life and the dust?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how Billie Jo's piano serves as a powerful metaphor in the story. Be sure to include the perspective on the piano both before and after Ma's death.

Essay Topic 2

Billie Jo becomes an outcast due to her hands being deformed after the fire. How does she manage through this stigma? How does she wish people would treat her? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of Ma. Be sure to include both physical and emotional characteristics as well as personal motivations, fears, etc.

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This section contains 929 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample