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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 of the Lamb daughters is a short-haired tomboy that does not want to marry?

2. In Joel’s will, it states that the house at One Cloud Street is left to Sam Pickles with what provision?

3. Who does Quick Lamb take with him to row the skiff upriver in Chapter IV?

4. What does Sam Pickles buy for Rose, reducing her to tears, in Chapter IV?

5. Where does Sam Pickles “win” a job position during a gambling game in Chapter IV?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author examine the themes of heredity and family in Chapter I?

2. What is foreshadowed through the character of the black man that appears in Chapter III?

3. How would you characterize the language style of Cloudstreet?

4. How does the luck of the Pickles family change at the end of Chapter IV?

5. How are fates of the Lamb and Pickles families compared to one another in Chapter II?

6. How do the Pickles family members differ from the Lambs in their perception of luck, as noted in Chapter III?

7. What is significant about the author’s depiction of the house on Cloud Street in Chapter III?

8. What events occur in January of 1951, according to the narrator in Chapter V?

9. How is Fish’s mental capacity changed after his accident?

10. How does the Lamb family perceive the concept of “luck,” as seen in the second half of Chapter III? What symbolizes this perception?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the characters of Lester and Oriel Lamb in the novel. How old are Lester and Oriel when the story begins? How many children do they have? How is their relationship characterized? In what ways are the Lambs similar and different than the Pickles family?

Essay Topic 2

How is the theme of “luck” illustrated through the character of Sam Pickles? What are Sam’s feelings about the malleability of luck? How does Sam’s luck influence the events in the story? What symbolism supports this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the character of Beryl Lee in the novel. Where does Oriel meet Beryl? Why does she invite Beryl to live at Cloudstreet? How does she fit in with the two families there? Why does Beryl leave Cloudstreet? Where does she go after leaving?

(see the answer keys)

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