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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. Caroline calls and says she had just returned from New York and found a note on her desk saying ____________ had driven to Des Moines to find her.

2. Thinking that runners like __________, Ginny decides to wait in her tomato garden for Jess to come by again.

3. The ____________ after their mother had died, Larry made the daughters take separate bedrooms.

4. What do Rose and Ginny decide to do because the doctor appointment goes so well?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. After the storm and the incident in the storm, what does Ginny decide she needs to do for her father?

4. What is on the papers which Ken LaSalle gives to Ginny when she is served?

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

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

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

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

9. What happens to the kitchen cabinets that Larry purchases, even though he doesn't need them?

10. What is Marc Griffin, the banker, worried about in relation to the actions of Larry on his farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The rigidity of Larry in the beginning of the story strikes a reader as odd, though perhaps just something that is inherent to his temperament.

Part 1: Why do you think Larry is so rigid about his schedule?

Part 2: Why are Larry's daughters keen to helping Larry adhere to his rigid schedule?

Part 3: What happens when Larry's schedule is not followed? Does this mean his schedule was to blame or some other factor?

Essay Topic 2

At times, it seems the author is not revealing a lot about some characters, which causes those characters to be more mysterious and more difficult to understand.

Part 1: Why do you think the author felt it was so important to focus on the lives of Ginny and Rose?

Part 2: Why do you think Caroline was ignored a bit as a character in the story?

Part 3: What is the value of not revealing everything about a character in a novel?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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