Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Where does Lauren's dad usually hold his services?
2. Why does Lauren's father say he doesn't go North?
3. How old is Lauren's brother Keith?
4. Who else besides Lauren does not cry over Keith's death?
5. What disease is killing people in New Jersey and New York?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Natividad teach Emery?
2. What does Lauren think is the best thing that happens to Bianca and Jorge?
3. Why do Travis and Zahra leave their employer?
4. Describe Lauren's dream.
5. What does Lauren tell Joanne about to give her an idea of how bad society becomes?
6. What "family business" does Lauren's father believe in keeping private?
7. Why doesn't Bankole want to bury the bones initially?
8. Why do Paints set fire to the park?
9. What are the findings of the Anglo-Japanese Cosmological Station?
10. Why is it safer to be dirty?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Trust, or the lack of trust, between individuals is very important in the novel and shows to be instrumental in the success or failure of a community. Select three of the following relationships, and explain how trust between the following characters contributes to the ultimate success or failure of their community:
a. Cory and Mr. Olamina.
b. Lauren and Keith.
c. Lauren and Jo.
d. Lauren and Curtis.
e. Lauren and Harry.
f. Lauren and Bankole.
g. Lauren and Grayson.
Essay Topic 2
Describe the qualities that Lauren has that make her a good leader. Using examples from the text, describe how she manages to convince people to join her group. What is it about her that seems to make people trust her or believe in her?
Essay Topic 3
Lauren says early in the novel that God might just be whatever it is that makes you feel "special and protected". She outlines various different ways people conceptualize God. For each of the following ideas of God, cite examples from the text that show people believing in this type of Deity, and explain how this belief influences the character's actions:
a. God as a "super person"--Big Daddy, Cop, King, etc.
b. God as a punisher.
c. God as Nature.
d. God as a spirit/a force/ the ultimate reality.
This section contains 627 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |