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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 Selina think that her mother wishes that she were?

2. What sets Miss Mary apart from the other tenants?

3. What does Selina do as Beryl comforts her at the park in Book 2?

4. What does Selina do to Ina when Ina states that she will tell their father how bad he is?

5. What does Selina's mother bring home from work for Selina?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Book 3, Chapters 1-4, what does Florrie do to Selina that shocks her so much? And why does she do it?

2. How does Deighton respond to the racism that he encounters while applying for accounting jobs?

3. What is Selina's relationship with her mother like?

4. Why is Deighton in such a happy mood at the beginning of Chapter 5?

5. Why does Silla want to sell the land that her husband has inherited in Barbados so badly?

6. Why does Selina think that babies are born by chopping the mother's stomach open?

7. Miss Thompson's roommate has three little girls, but it is Miss Thompson who cares for them. Why is that?

8. Beryl's father asks Selina about her own father, and then tells her that he is a disgrace. Why does that upset Selina so much?

9. What event takes place in Book 3 that coincides with the beginning of World War II?

10. In Book 2, Beryl and Selina have a conversation about babies being born. Why do they not know the facts of life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the pivotal moment in Selina's life that changes her entire future? Is there more than one? Define Selina's pivotal moments, and analyze how they change her.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of Deighton and Clive, the two primary male characters in the novel. How are they alike in their influence over Selina? How do their characters differ? How does Selina differ in her interactions with each of them? What does she learn from them?

Essay Topic 3

Silla and Selina have a volatile relationship. Describe and analyze the changes that take place in their relationship over time. In what way(s) does Selina evolve into a person like her mother? Different from her mother? Does she embody more of Silla's negative characteristics, or more of her positive characteristics? Do you think that Selina surpasses her mother in character? Why or why not? Support your position with statements from the novel.

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