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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. Which culture is Avey reminded of when she sees her hotel?

2. How old was Sis when she tried to get her parents to stop fighting?

3. What did Great Aunt Cuney do that would get her tossed out of the dances?

4. In a vision Avey's husband says she is being too careless with _______________.

5. Avey's daughter, Marion, wanted her mother to take a trip where ______________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Avey recall about spending time with her Great Aunt Cuney?

2. Whose transformation begins in Chapter 3 after Avey and Jay's big fight?

3. How does Avey recall the changes that turned Jay into Jerome?

4. Who is Thomasina and how does she react to Avey's wanting to leave the cruise?

5. What does Avey learn from the taxi driver about what all the commotion is about with the people at the harbor?

6. What strikes Avey as odd as she watches the people at the harbor?

7. Why does Avey feel guilty about reminiscing about the days spent at the Halsey Street apartment?

8. What does the taxi driver tell Avey about the close ties among the community of people on the island?

9. What are Avey's plans and how does she make her exit from the cruise?

10. Why did Avey become obsessed with the idea that Jay was being unfaithful to her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Praisesong for the Widow is set in the 1970s during the time of the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement in America. What impact does this factor have on the author? What impact does this factor have on any of the other characters? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the role of black women in the 1970s. What precedents do they feel compelled to follow? What restrictions do they have? Do they have any freedoms that 21st century women do not have?

Essay Topic 3

Praisesong for the Widow is a classic story of renewal and rebirth. What does that classification entail? Why does this novel fit into this category? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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