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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 nickname do the women in town have for George Carver?

2. What is the name of Phillip's first serious girlfriend?

3. What tone infects Betsy's written description of the people with whom her father is night clubbing?

4. What people are responsible for helping Phillip leave Memphis to move to New York?

5. What do Betsy and Josephine do to embarrass their father?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 5, Phillip's narrative presents many examples of Alex's ability to befriend both Mr Carver and Phillip Carver. What are the examples Phillip gives?

2. As Chapter 1 opens, Phillip is alone in the apartment he shares with Holly Kaplan. Why is this the case? What are the things Phillip thinks about while deciding whether to go to Memphis?

3. As Mr. Carver continues to date and socialize, the two daughters appear to keep very close tabs on him. How does Phillip react to this? What is he able to see about his Father's situation based on the regular correspondence from Josephine and Betsy?

4. In Chapter 5, Phillip tells the story of the pendant. What is the significance of four leaf clovers in the love affair between Clara and Phillip?

5. As Chapter Six opens, Phillip describes the way his sisters are treating their father. How are the sisters behaving now that Father is dating?

6. In Chapter 4, Phillip describes meeting Alex Mercer. How does Phillip meet Alex and how does their friendship grow? What do each represent to the other?

7. In Chapter 2, Phillip tells of the end of Betsy and Wyant's relationship. What incident causes the beginning of the end of the relationship? How does Betsy react to her father? How does Wyant react? What is father's objection and how does he present this to Betsy?

8. In Chapter 4, thirteen year-old Phillip introduces us to his first serious girl friend. Who is the young girl he falls in love with and how does he describe her? What develops in their relationship, and how does it end?

9. Betsy and Josephine always speak to Mr. Carver and Philip about their late-night dates and whether or not they should marry. In Chapter 6, Phillip knows that this is a game the two sisters play. Are there romances for these two women? Who does Phillip realize these phantom men are?

10. In Chapter 3, Phillip talks at length about what his sisters have done for both himself and his brother, Georgie. What have they done for their brothers to help them in their lives? What have they potentially sacrificed by helping their brothers in this way? How do the two women continue to take care of their father after the boys leave home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, the author spends a great deal of time describing the cities of Memphis and Nashville. Why do you think the differences in these two cities is important to the plot of the novel? Are the cities symbolic of Southern culture and Southern families? How does this novel compare to other well-known books set in the South?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 5, Phillip's mother says to him, "Don't be so hard to please, son. Sometimes the second choice is better than the first would have been." Has this proven to be true for Phillip? Is Holly, the second choice, better suited to Phillip than his first choice, Clara? Take into account all you have learned in the novel about Tennessee life, the Carver family, and Phillip himself.

Essay Topic 3

What is the climactic point in the novel? Is it believable? How does it change the action in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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