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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 did Jacqueline come to call her maternal grandfather when living with him, according to the narrative of "Gunnar's Children"?

2. How old was Jacqueline Woodson's mother when Jackie was born?

3. Who was Thomas Woodson's mother?

4. What is the name of Jacqueline Woodson's maternal grandfather?

5. What is Grace Woodson's relationship to Jacqueline?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What conflict is described in the poem "A Girl Named Jack"?

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

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

6. How is the house described in "The Ghosts of the Nelsonville House"? Where is Nelsonville?

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

8. How are the poet's parents described in "Second Daughter’s Second Day on Earth"?

9. What story is related from Grandma Georgiana's perspective in "Other People’s Memory"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the millenarian restorationist Christian denomination known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. When were the Jehovah’s Witnesses originated? What are their belief systems? How do they differ from other Christian denominations? What influences did Jackie's faith have on her as a child?

Essay Topic 2

Define the following poetry terms and discuss an example of each from Brown Girl Dreaming: assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and repetition. What purpose does each example serve for the reader? How does the poetry of Jacqueline Woodson differ when read aloud?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the characterizations of Grandma Georgiana and Grandpa Gunnar in the memoir. How would you describe Jackie’s relationship with her maternal grandparents? Where did Gunnar work?

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