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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 was the name of the home kit model that John Cook and his new wife Edith bought years after the grandparents drained their land?

2. Ginny wonders why the musically talented Pete married Rose, and it seemed the only thing the two had in common was ___________.

3. What does Rose exclaim she wants to eat when she is out on her fancy dinner of celebration?

4. Larry and his other lawyer, ___________, are suing to get the farm back from Rose and Ginny and the others.

5. Ginny fears that __________ had sensed something between her and Jess but she wasn't sure.

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to the Ericson farm, according to Ginny's memory of the time it was purchased?

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

3. What does Ginny drive Rose to and what is the outcome of this trip they take together?

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

5. How does Ginny describe the dimensions of her flat world as an 8-year-old in 1951?

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

7. What happened to Ginny's grandmother's grandparents find when they arrived in the United States from England?

8. Why does Ginny run back home on her way to feed her father one morning?

9. What does Harold publicly denounce Ginny and Rose for doing to Larry?

10. What did Ginny and Rose do in order to help Caroline grow up well even though her mother had died?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the story it is obvious that Ginny wants to have a baby, but at the same time, this goal is clouding her interpretation of events around her.

Part 1: Do you think the story would have been different had Ginny already had children?

Part 2: How do Ginny's fertility issues cloud the storytelling? Or don't they?

Part 3: What might be the symbolism of Ginny's fertility issues in relation to the events which take place?

Essay Topic 2

The prospect of freedom is something that is explored at several points of this story.

Part 1: How do you think the characters are trapped in this story?

Part 2: How do you think the characters are free in this story?

Part 3: Do you think it's easier for the characters to be trapped or to be free? Why?

Essay Topic 3

In the story, one could say that the setting and its many specific locations are also characters in the story.

Part 1: What kind of 'character' is Chelsea in this story? What does this location do to the characters?

Part 2: In what ways are the characters affected by other settings in the story?

Part 3: Were the story to take place in a different state or area, how would might the story have changed?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 705 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample