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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 time is Auda Billy sitting on her bed at the beginning of Chapter 2?

2. What color is the wallpaper in Auda's room?

3. Who has Anoleta been wrongly accused of murdering?

4. How many acres burned in the prairie fire that happened on September 22, 1991?

5. Where did Tema and Bordon Beane meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 5, what does Auda observe when she examines Adair?

2. Why is there a fire in Chapter 2?

3. Why did Tema and Bordon come to Dallas?

4. What happened to Auda when she was at work on September 21, 1991?

5. What is Auda Billy doing at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning in Chapter 2, and who is in the house with her?

6. How did Adair make her reputation in 1985 in her work?

7. What happened to Tuscalusa and those who went to meet the invader, Hispano de Soto?

8. What jobs has Tema had, and why did she become an actress?

9. When Isaac cannot work at his newspaper office, what does he do?

10. Why did Auda and her mother have an argument about Red McAlester in 1983?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Backstories are used to present information about events that happened before incidents in the novel. How do backstories provide insight into characters and events? What is the importance of backstories in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

A spoiler in literature is an element in a story that reveals plot elements. What are some titles of chapters? How do those titles indicate what will happen in a chapter? Are the chapter titles spoilers?

Essay Topic 3

Sarah Bernhardt is an old woman of indeterminate age. What is known about Sarah Bernhardt? What role does she play in the novel? Why is she described as a trickster?

(see the answer keys)

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