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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. Which offensive gift has Grandma Lodge given Cole in the past?

2. What family heirloom does Sandy sell?

3. In the Prologue, why does Birdie feel like she is nobody?

4. What is the name of Birdie and Cole's secret language?

5. Who has been using Sandy and Deck's second floor guestroom in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why doesn't Sandy think that Birdie is really "passing" as white?

2. According to Sandy, what is a WASP?

3. Why does Birdie have to change her name and racial identity?

4. Describe Sandy's efforts to find a school for her daughters.

5. Describe Sandy's encounter with Redbone in Chapter 4.

6. Describe Cole Lee.

7. Once Sandy decides to end her transient wanderings, where do she and Birdie settle down?

8. Why do Birdie and Cole have difficulty fitting into school society at Nkrumah?

9. How do Birdie and Cole learn to fit into school society at Nkrumah?

10. What is Deck's theory about ethnic restaurants?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Birdie and Cole's secret language. Why might they have felt it necessary to develop the language? How does it bind them in the beginning of the novel and how is it used later in the novel? What does it represent to the biracial sisters?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the time period in which Birdie and her mother lived in motels and communes. What motivates Sandy to make the choice to live such a transient lifestyle? How does transient living affect Birdie's education and character development? What motivates Sandy to settle down and how does that decision affect Birdie's character?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of WASPs in the novel? How does Sandy identify a WASP? What ironies are evident in her description? How does Sandy's perceptions of WASPs affect both her and Birdie's characters?

(see the answer keys)

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