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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 does Phillip realize on his trip home to Memphis?

2. What is Alex's plan for Phillip as the two men drive to the airport?

3. What does Phillip give Holly upon his return from Memphis?

4. What does Father say to Betsy and Josephine inside the house?

5. Where does the family see Lewis Shackleford?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 12, Phillip begins calling his father on a weekly basis. Why are those calls important to Phillip?

2. While flying to Memphis in Chapter 7, Philip thinks about his course of action with his sister who he fears are planning vengeance on their father. What does Phillip want to convince the sisters to do?

3. 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?

4. In Chapter 9, Phillip gives us a glimpse of Holly's life. How do we learn about Holly and how she fits into her family?

5. While George Carver and his wife are in St, Louis for business, what happens to the Mr. Shackleford's company? How does Mr. Carver react to this news?

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

7. In Chapter 8, Betsy and Josephine have prepared a bed for Phillip in their father's study. However, Phillip does not stay. He leaves his father and sisters and returns to New York. Why does he not remain and defend his father against his sisters? Why does Phillip leave so hastily?

8. 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?

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

10. When Alex arrives in Memphis in Chapter 7, he sees his father waving to him from the runway. Describe Father's behavior upon seeing Phillip. What is happening that day? How does his father appear to Phillip?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Are Betsy and Josephine justified in preventing Father from marrying and cloistering him in his home with their constant oversight? Defend your position.

Essay Topic 2

Phillip has four women in his life. In Chapter 3, he presents a picture of his two sisters, his mother, and his girlfriend, Holly. Holly stands out as notably different, even opposite, from the three women in his family. Compare and contrast these four women. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they relate to the men in their lives? What might Phillip find appealing about Holly?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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