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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 does Lena says her Aunt Del is in “A Crack in the Plaster”?

2. What aroma does Ethan frequently smell after his recurring dreams and when strange things happen in the novel?

3. Ethan has a nightmare in which he is what in “The Real Boo Radley”?

4. Who knocks at Ethan’s door late at night in “Hallow E’en”?

5. The chapter title “Marian the Librarian” is a literary allusion to what musical?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Amma’s role within the Wate household? How is her role in the family illustrated through her actions in “The Middle of Nowhere”?

2. What does the reader learn about the significance of the library in “The Real Boo Radley”?

3. What supernatural incidents are described in the opening of “The Real Boo Radley”?

4. Where is Ethan’s mother in the story? What is the impact of her absence as seen in “The Middle of Nowhere”?

5. How are the chapters structured in the novel? What is the significance of the dates noted?

6. How does Lena describe her family members’ supernatural powers in “A Crack in the Plaster”?

7. What happens outside of Ethan’s father’s study in the beginning of “Marian the Librarian”?

8. How do Ethan and Lena part at the end of “Collision”? What aroma does Ethan smell at this time?

9. What part of the library does Ethan visit for the first time in “Marian the Librarian”? How is this room described?

10. What confuses Ethan about the appearance of Ravenwood Manor when he arrives in “The Real Boo Radley”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the setting of Gatlin, South Carolina, as depicted in the opening of Beautiful Creatures. How does the narrator feel about his hometown? How does his father describe the town? How large is the town?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the motif of poetry in the novel. What style of poetry does Lena write? Do you enjoy the excerpts included in the text? How would you analyze them as stand-alone pieces? What poets are alluded to in the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the relationship that Gatlin has with history, and specifically the history surrounding the Civil War. What battles are said to have taken place in or around Gatlin? How do the authors address the aspects of slavery involved in the Civil War? Were Lena and/or Ethan’s families slave owners?

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