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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. Where did Mary Anne's family live in South Carolina?

2. How did Jacqueline Woodson's family travel from Ohio to South Carolina each winter when she was young?

3. What creatures "keep going / as though they know their song / is our lullaby" in the poem "Lullaby"?

4. When was the American Civil War declared?

5. What word has Hope said, causing his mother to hit him with a switch, in the poem "The Right Way to Speak"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe her siblings in the poems "The Reader" and "Hope" from Part 1?

2. How does the author describe her grandmother's rules in "The Right Way to Speak"?

3. How is the unfolding Civil Rights Movement described in the poem "South Carolina at War"?

4. How does the author describe the names in her family in "Family Names"?

5. How does the author establish the social and political atmosphere into which she was born in "Second Daughter’s Second Day on Earth"?

6. Who is the focus of the poem "Football Dreams"? What is related in this narrative?

7. How does the author describe her feelings about the Bible and Christianity in "Bible Times"?

8. What was Gunnar Irby's profession? What struggles did he face in his job?

9. When and where does the author describe her paternal great-great-grandfather's birth in "It’ll Be Scary Sometimes"?

10. What event is described in the poem "The Candy Lady"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the themes of family and sacrifice seen in the memoir. What are some of the sacrifices that Georgiana has made for her children and grandchildren? What are sacrifices Gunnar has made? How has Mary Anne sacrificed for her children?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss South Carolina’s history of Slavery and the “trainings” and oppressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. What do “trainings” refer to? How did the trainings originate? How accurate is Gunnar’s explanation of the social unrest in South Carolina and the emerging Civil Rights Movement?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the significance of the names in Jackie’s family as demonstrated in “Family Names.” Why did Gunnar’s family have unusual names? How did Grandma Georgiana’s family differ? What is the significance of Jackie's name and those of her siblings?

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This section contains 795 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample