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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 the task Ginny is trying to accomplish, one that takes her until noon that morning?

2. Pammy tells Ginny that Rose left instructions not to let _________ into their house if no other adults were present.

3. Jess' father decided to take the day off from ____________ planting to host the pig roast for his son.

4. Jess asks Ginny who Larry's favorite was of all of his girls as they are talking to each other. Who is the favorite?

5. __________ says it's too much to walk a block and a half on an 87 degree day and that Ginny should wait in the car.

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the way that Marv Carlson, the banker, eats when he arrives at Larry's house the morning after the pig roast.

2. What did Harold buy for himself without consulting Larry, which made Larry a bit upset?

3. What happens when Jess arrives at Ginny's with frozen meat for her to store for him and for Harold?

4. What ends the two week long Monopoly game and causes the family to react angrily?

5. What is Larry's response to the questions of Ginny and Ty after he is released from the hospital?

6. What are the reactions of the daughters to Larry's new disappearance?

7. Why was Jess in church that morning, as he explains later when his father and brother are not around?

8. What does Ginny do in order to try to catch a glance of Jess Clark again?

9. When Ginny takes her nieces to the swimming pool, what do they complain about to her?

10. What did Ginny and Rose create inside of their mother's closet when they were little?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rose seems to have a very simple way of dealing with the abuse of her father, but Ginny wants to go deeper with the explanation.

Part 1: What do you think of Rose's explanation that Larry did what he did because he could?

Part 2: What do you think of Ginny's quest to learn more about Larry's motivations to abuse them?

Part 3: Do you think Rose can ever come to peace with her past in the limited explanation she has accepted? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Larry is a character that the reader hates from the start, and yet, one cannot help but also feel some pity for him and for his situation.

Part 1: Do you think Larry is an inherently bad person? Why or why not?

Part 2: Had the girls' Mom not died, do you think Larry would have been a different person? Why or why not?

Part 3: Do you think Larry realizes just how awful he has been to his children? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Much of the novel is sad, depressing, and perhaps even tragic. However, in the face of all this tragedy, it is hard to begin to see who might have suffered more.

Part 1: Describe the tragedy of one character in this story. How has his/her past and/or present pain changed him/her?

Part 2: Do you think it's possible to avoid tragedy in this story? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why do you think the author focused so much on the tragedy of the characters in this story?

(see the answer keys)

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