View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did John go to school?

2. Who is Jake?

3. Who calls John at the beginning of the book?

4. How does John characterize the waiting room?

5. How old is Jamila when she visits Robby in prison?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does John characterize Robby's temperament?

2. How does John say Robby changed his mother?

3. How does John say he and his family act when they get to the penitentiary?

4. What does John say Jamila knows of Robby?

5. Describe the geography of "Brothers and Keepers".

6. Who travels to the prison to visit Robby?

7. How does John treat the prisoners?

8. How are Jamila and Robby related in John's mind?

9. Who is Garth, and what was his importance in Robby's life?

10. Where does John say Robby has a place in Jamila's life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

According to John Wideman, Robby is locked up like an animal. What other metaphors are common to "Brothers and Keepers", and what does the web of metaphorical associations tell us about Wideman and his ideas about Robby's incarceration? Does he treat the idea playfully? Is he deadly serious about it? Does he try to magnify the significance of it through metaphor? Does he try to diminish it or domesticate it?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast John and Robby's attitudes about money. How are they similar? How are they different? How did John change from the ghetto mentality about money to something else?

Essay Topic 3

Write an evaluative review of "Brothers and Keepers". What is this book's place in culture? What are its uses? Who is its audience? What are its limitations?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 648 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample