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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where do Holly and Phillip acquire much of their furnishings?
(a) The neighbors' cast offs.
(b) The alley behind their apartment.
(c) Old estate sales and junk stores.
(d) Their parents.

2. What happens in town when George Carver is born?
(a) Firecrackers are set off.
(b) Church bells ring and guns are fired.
(c) Police cars sound their sirens.
(d) Firestation sirens are rung.

3. How does Phillip feel about his father before the man dies the following spring?
(a) They are able to talk of things they could not when face-to-face.
(b) They have nothing in common.
(c) They can never forget the past.
(d) His father really is an ogre.

4. How does Phillip feel about the furnishings in his house?
(a) He does not care about any of them.
(b) He is angry at Holly for wanting them.
(c) He is proud of them.
(d) He is attached to them.

5. What kind of car does Mr. Carver drive?
(a) A ten year old Rolls.
(b) A fifteen year old convertible.
(c) A twenty year old Cadillac.
(d) A five year old Mercedes.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is George Carver regarded by the townspeople?

2. What does Phillip do two days after returning to New York?

3. In Chapter 8, what is one thing Phillip imagines his father will do next?

4. How do Mr. Carver and Mr. Shackleford greet each other in the restaurant?

5. What news does Betsy bring to Father as he is waiting to leave for Nashville?

Short Essay Questions

1. During the drive from the church to Mr. Carver's home in Chapter 8, Phillip begins thinking of what his father might do next. What things does he think are possible? Why does he believe his father might do any of them?

2. When Mr. Carver dies in Chapter 12, Holly's father also dies. The two of them return to New York after the funerals, and continue their lives together there. Phillip describes them both as "serenely free spirits." What has caused him to characterize himself and Holly in this way?

3. What is Betsy's stated reason for Father not going to see Lewis Shackleford in Chapter 11? What is the real reason?

4. In Chapter 9, Phillip visits Holly in her apartment in the hopes of a reconciliation. What do the two of them talk about for the first time openly and honestly? What has happened in Holly's life during their separation?

5. In Chapter 10, why does George Carver move the family to Nashville when Phillip is five years old? Where does the family live? How does he establish himself and his family in town?

6. In Chapter 8, Alex, Phillip and Father pull up to the house from the church. What is happening as they arrive? Why?

7. In Chapter 7, Phillip compares the life he knows in his father's house in Memphis and his apartment in New York. How do the two residences differ? How does Phillip feel about the contents of his family home in Memphis and the contents of his apartment?

8. In Chapter 9, Phillip explains the difference between his father and Alex Mercer as an important factor in their friendship. What is this difference?

9. In Chapter 8, how does Phillip react to his sisters' actions? How does Alex react?

10. In Chapter 7, what happens at the church? How does Mr. Carver react to the news? What does he say to Alex and Phillip?

(see the answer keys)

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