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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 type of flower was planted on Spelman's campus in preparation for the television shoot?

2. Whose memoir was Mary working on when she first met Ellen in 1983?

3. How does Mrs. Erickson complete her "creative work"?

4. Which of the following nation did many of the immigrants Mary's mother worked with com from?

5. What is the only way an asymmetrical relationship to work?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to Alice after Jack died unexpectedly?

2. What conclusion does Mary come to about the success of relationships in academia?

3. According to Bateson, what role do successful parents play in ensuring, or deterring, the success of their daughters?

4. How did Johnnetta use her academic experience to change the definition of what it meant to live "as a black woman"?

5. What major breakthrough did Ellen make in her field of psychology?

6. What was Erik's theory of the life cycle while he was studying under Freud in the West Coast?

7. According to Bateson, how is life like jazz music?

8. According to Johnnetta, what does the term "tweeded" mean in academia?

9. What is the most significant memory Alice has of her childhood in Rumania?

10. What does it mean to Mary to live in "a life in flux", and how did this affect her choosing of which women would appear in the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, Bateson gives many different examples of ways that individuals care for themselves and those around them. First, define the three different ways one can act as a caregiver, and give examples from the text to support your definitions. Then, choose one woman from the text and explain why you believe she is the best examples of a well-rounded caregiver. What are the benefits of being a good caregiver? What are the downfalls? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

In chapter seven, Mary Bateson makes the statement that Americans are more comfortable giving things away completely than sharing. What do you think Bateson means by this saying? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? Finally, explain how you think this statement relates to the five women presented in the novel. Does this statement summarize any one woman or relationship in the text? If so, how? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

At the end of the book, Mary has almost completely changed her attitude about caregiving and women in the primary role as caregivers. First, describe Mary's attitude about these topics at the opening of the book and compare/contrast that to her attitude at the end of the book. Then, citing specific examples from the text, trace Mary's change in attitude and consciousness based on the knowledge she gained from her interviews with the five women.

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