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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 is just ending for Lorene at the beginning of the novel?

2. What does Lorene say life at St. Paul's resembles for black students?

3. Who is Pam Hudson?

4. What change was made at St. Paul's in 1971?

5. Where do Lorene and her parents pass through on their way to St. Paul's?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Mr. Evans, and what is his relationship with Lorene?

2. What does Lorene say when someone asks her whether her daughter will go to St. Paul's?

3. Describe Lorene's relation with white girls.

4. When is the last chapter set?

5. Describe the meet and greet Lorene and her parents attend.

6. Who are the first people Lorene describes meeting?

7. Where did Lorene work during high school?

8. What is Lorene's objection regarding her religion exam?

9. By what was Lorene's mother shocked at the meet and greet?

10. Who are the wombats and what is their role in the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Lorene's experience at St. Paul's change her relationship with her family and her community in Philadelphia? Does she leave them behind, does the relationship remain the same, or does she forge a new relationship with them?

Essay Topic 2

Black Ice can be read as an allegory for American culture, with its tension between black and white cultures. What does Black Ice say about how blacks and whites relate? What main problems does it identify, and how does it propose to solve those problems?

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate your own reading of Black Ice--did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

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This section contains 602 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample