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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. Does Bone ever see her real father?

2. What does Boone compare the hair of her sick aunt to?

3. Who comes to the diner almost everyday for lunch?

4. Where is Butch living in Chapter 7?

5. The instructions for the love knot say that Mama should keep it where?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the two things that people talk about when they talk about Glen? How are the two things alike?

2. Describe Shannon Pearl.

3. In Chapter 8, Bone begins suffering many injuries at Glen's hands. Does it seem realistic that her mother wouldn't realize what is going on?

4. After Glen beats Bone with a belt for the first time, Mama asks Bone what she did. Why doesn't Bone tell her?

5. Bone finally sees a smile in Glen's eyes before he molests her, but it vanishes afterwards. Why?

6. Is Bone happy that Mama finally moves them away from Glen?

7. Glen is very happy about Mama's pregnancy. What does it mean for him?

8. In Chapter 6, Mama tells the girls about she and her siblings making up foods they would never have or wouldn't want. Why does she do this?

9. Why does Bone try to scare Reese against hitchhiking while at the same time doing it herself?

10. Why does Ruth like being pregnant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dorothy Allison makes several references to looking like a Boatwright. Bone watches for this and looks for the Boatwright birthright in both her appearance and her behavior as she tries to figure out who she is. Find both positive and negative examples of what being a Boatwright means. By the end of the book, is Bone glad she's a Boatwright?

Essay Topic 2

Bone says that "things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies." What are the results when the relatives learn of Bone's physical abuse? Ultimately, is it a good or bad thing? If it had not happened, would Bone have been raped or not? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Symbolism is an important component in "Bastard Out of Carolina." Choose either the love knot or the hook, and describe its symbolism in the story.

(see the answer keys)

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