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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. How old were Joan's children at the beginning of the book?

2. Where was the cottage to which Joan wanted to retreat at the beginning of the book?

3. In Chapter 4, Riptide, what did Joan get up each morning to watch?

4. From whom did Joan get the wobbly kitchen table in the cottage?

5. What did Joan envy about the seals?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Joan's day with the seals like?

2. Where did Joan and her husband meet, and how did Joan's in-laws feel about the couple's relationship?

3. In Chapter 6, Waves of Truth, why did Joan get angry at the fish market customer who looked like Santa Claus?

4. How did Joan fare in the footrace in Chapter 8, Getting My Feet Wet, and what did the race symbolize to her?

5. What incident told Joan that the other workers at the fish market had accepted her?

6. In Chapter 7, Silent Seas, Silent Nights, why did Joan mentally compare her marriage to several boats which had gotten frozen in place in the harbor?

7. What kind of Christmas tree did Joan and her husband have on Cape Cod, and how did they decorate?

8. What was Larry's PX and how did the men who congregated there respond to Joan's presence?

9. What did Joan think of the wealthy wives who came into the fish market and ordered expensive fish?

10. In Chapter 9, Fogged In, how did Joan compare women to fog?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Joan Erickson, Hazel, and Joan's daughters-in-laws. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Joan's two jobs on Cape Cod with her career as a writer. How did her two jobs on Cape Cod change Joan, her relationships, and her marriage? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of self-reliance in the book. How did Joan demonstrate self-reliance at Cape Cod, and was she self-reliant all her life, or did she become more so during her year by the sea? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

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