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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 name has Minny chosen as her secret identity in Skeeter's book?

2. How common does Aibileen tell Skeeter it was for women to give up their children to care for white families?

3. Who buys a copy of Skeeter and Aibileen's book for Hilly Holbrook?

4. What does Minny forbid Skeeter to do in chapter 17?

5. What is in a letter Aibileen gives to Skeeter in chapter 27?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Skeeter feel it is important to change the location and names in the book she is writing?

2. Hilly Holbrook wins Minny's chocolate pie in the silent auction at the Benefit. Who bid on the pie for Hilly? Who does she think bid on it for her?

3. In chapter 28, Skeeter goes shopping and finally finds her own style. What style is that? What has inspired it?

4. What does Minny insist on adding to her section of the book? For what reason?

5. How are most of the women at the Benefit dressed? How does Celia Foote stand out?

6. In chapter 24, Minny fights with a naked man in the Foote's backyard. Who is the man? Why is Minny fighting him? What happens?

7. What begins to happen throughout town as people begin to read Skeeter's book?

8. What are the secret stories that Aibileen tells Mae Mobley? Why does Aibileen tell these stories?

9. Why does Celia threaten to leave her husband in chapter 26? How does Minny talk her out of it?

10. Who shows up at Elizabeth Leefolt's door in chapter 23 to buy tickets to the League's Children's Benefit? Why is this potentially a disaster for Minny and Aibileen?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following themes in an essay using quotes from the novel to support your conclusions:

1) Racism

2) Family

3) Social Expectations

4) Ambition versus Fear.

Essay Topic 2

What happens at the first interview between Skeeter and Aibileen? Why does Aibileen have trouble telling her stories to Skeeter? Why does Aibileen suggest she begin writing down her stories? How does Skeeter react to this? Why is Skeeter reluctant to let Aibileen do any of the writing? Why does she eventually change her mind? What does Skeeter do with Aibileen's chapter for the book? How does this lead to a deadline for the book? What is Aibileen's role in the writing of the book after she has told her own stories?

Essay Topic 3

Who is Aibileen? What does she mean when she says that she has raised seventeen children? Why does Aibileen not remain with these kids until adulthood? What changes in the children that Aibileen finds hard to deal with? How could this frequent change in employment lead to trouble for Aibileen? What happened shortly before Aibileen went to work for the Leefolts? How did this tragedy come about? How has it impacted Aibileen? How did this tragedy make Aibileen more open to falling in love with Mae Mobley? How does Mrs. Leefolt treat her only child? What causes this? What does Aibileen do about it?

(see the answer keys)

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