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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 the teacher ask Janey about the horned toad?

2. What is Janey's mood at this point in her life?

3. Why is Janey early arriving to school?

4. What does Janey sense as she sits near the river?

5. Mr. Anderson tells Janey that the Larkins can _________________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Janey offer the willow plate to Dr. Pierce as payment for Mom's care?

2. What does the eucalyptus tree job mean for the Larkin family?

3. Why does the Camp School come to a close?

4. What offer does Mr. Anderson make to Mr. Larkin?

5. Why does Dad enter into a fight with Bounce that could land Dad in jail?

6. How does Janey know that her Mom is very sick?

7. What does Janey notice as she waits for the teacher and other students at the Camp School?

8. How is the family relieved as Mom's condition continues to improve?

9. Why does Janey have so much anxiety about the cotton picking contest?

10. Why does Janey go to the Anderson house prior to the Larkin family's leaving the area and what does she learn from Mr. Anderson regarding her willow plate?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the lives of Janey and Lupe. How are their circumstances similar? In what ways are their lives different? What draws them together to make them friends? What could have threatened to kill a friendship even before it began?

Essay Topic 2

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of struggle. Identify at least two instances about struggle in the book and then cite examples to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role of women in America during the Great Depression. What precedents do these women feel compelled to follow? What restrictions do they have? What freedoms did they have that 21st century women do not have? How were their lives significantly more difficult than the lives of 21st century women?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,450 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample