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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 is wrong with Son as he walks up onto the porch?

2. What nickname does Son call Cecilia?

3. Why does Rose cancel a driving lesson with Sissy?

4. Why does Son not think Sissy should stay with June all day?

5. Angie comes to visit with her new baby named _____________.

Short Essay Questions

1. How have the driving lessons provides some hope for a better relationship between Sissy and Rose?

2. What is the nature of the relationship between Sissy and Rose at this point in time?

3. What does Sissy realize about her mother when they are driving in the car?

4. What is the relationship between Sissy and the girls at the home, one girl in particular?

5. Who finds June dead and what is the turnout for her funeral?

6. Who is Lorraine and how does Sissy meet her?

7. What does Rose do after the family moves into the farmhouse?

8. How does Son's girlfriend, Cecilia, die, and why does he feel such guilt about it?

9. What problem does Sissy have now that she is about the same age as the girls coming to St. Elizabeth's?

10. What does Thomas leave for Sissy before he goes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Project into the future ten years after the end of the novel and write a brief synopsis for Sissy's life. Will Rose still be such a powerful presence in her life? What is her relationship with Son? Did she develop a relationship with Thomas? Explain your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

The frustration of unfulfilled affection touches several characters in the story. Name at least two characters who experience unfulfilled love and the situations that occur as a result.

Essay Topic 3

Abandonment seems to be almost an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is the sense of abandonment? Why does it have such a prevalent place in the lives of the characters? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

(see the answer keys)

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