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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. Why does T.C. appreciate Bon Bon?

2. Who is T.C.'s mama?

3. How many times has T.C. been incarcerated?

4. Who gives Evelyn bigger clothes to wear?

5. What does T.C.'s mama think she has a gift for?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Evelyn mean when she says the baby will salvage her?

2. What does T.C. learn happened with his relatives while he was incarcerated?

3. What state is T.C.'s mama in when he shows up after he is released from prison?

4. How did T.C. injure himself?

5. How does Renard show Evelyn he is thinking of her from overseas?

6. What will happen if T.C. gets busted again?

7. Evelyn's daddy says she has a "low imagination" because she is settling. Why does this upset her?

8. Jackie wants time to process things according to her own set of values. What does this mean?

9. What does T.C. hope to do with his life?

10. Why does Sybil talk so poorly about her clients?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay expanding on the changing housing market issues Black Americans faced during the 60s and 70s. How can integration be unequal?

Essay Topic 2

Women are a larger part of the workforce in the 1986 story timeline. Write an essay expounding on what Jackie's father, Renard, means when he says that women are mad about not being able to mind their own children.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay highlighting the different eras shown through the novel's three timelines. Include how the political movements and social issues affect each of the protagonists and their families.

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