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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. Which of the following industries did Andrew Carnegie start in Pittsburgh?

2. How does Annie feel about having to attend church on Sundays?

3. What is the one time Oma remembers Opa being angry with her?

4. Which of the following is NOT a color found on the Polymorphous moth - the moth Annie hatches in her classroom?

5. At which summer camp does Annie watch robins fledge with her friend, Judy Schoyer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What fantasies about food rationing does Annie frequently have as a child?

2. Who are Louis Pasteur and Jonas Salk?

3. What advice about dancing does Mother give to Annie before she attends the Sewickley Dance?

4. Who is Annie's date to the Sewickley Dance, and what do they do together?

5. How does Annie feel about her mother's position in life?

6. Which of Giacometti's sculptures most inspires Annie as an artist, and why?

7. What does Annie think the collection of fall leaves exemplifies in the imagination of children?

8. How does Annie claim her world changes when she turns sixteen?

9. Why is Annie labeled a "troubled child" while in her teens?

10. What happens during Annie's last visit with Oma?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Literature plays a large role in Annie's childhood. First, name at least two novels Annie was reading as a child and explain how the themes of these novels directly related to Annie's life. Do you think Annie's reading list as a ten-year-old child was age appropriate? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

One main undercurrent of Annie's memoir is the discussion of racism within her city. First, give one example of a person in this memoir who exemplifies a racist attitude. Then, explain how that person's attitude compares / contrasts to the attitude of Annie and the rest of her family.

Essay Topic 3

When Annie Dillard published this memoir, she was over forty years old, but attempting to write in the voice of her childhood. Give one example of a scene in which Annie was writing in the voice of ten-year-old child, and one scene in which she was writing in the voice of an adult woman looking back. Do you think the balance between these voices was successful? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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