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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. How many families does the Project Hope shelter take in at one time?

2. To what food item did Joan compare her first home with Erik?

3. According to Mary, what is the one thing all five women in the book are striving for?

4. Whose home does Mary think "signifies society's ideas about status, education, and family"?

5. Which woman claims to be completely unable to manage multi-tasking?

Short Essay Questions

1. What prompted Mary's identity crisis after high school?

2. What was Mary Bateson's father's thesis in his writings about ecology?

3. In what way does "The Ode of Imru'u I-Qays" support Mary's arguments about multiple lives?

4. Why did Jon need a blood transfusion when he was young?

5. At what times in their lives did Alice and Johnnetta most remember sharing, particularly food?

6. What two metaphors does Mary use to describe her emotions in dealing with the Amherst presidency?

7. In what ways is leading multiple lives similar to having "heightened wisdom"?

8. What has changed about caretaking in recent years, according to Mary's research on society?

9. What does Mary hope to write about in her next book?

10. How do the multiple roles women fill in their daily life affect their self-identity?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many ways, composing an identity is much like composing a life. Fist, describe the way most individuals compose their own identity. Do people generally have one or many identities? Choose one woman from the book and list the characteristics of her identity or identities. In what ways is does this formation of identity inform the title of the book? In what way is composed identity similar to a composed life? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Alice is one of the key women whose relationship is a focal point of the book. First, describe Alice's relationship with Jack: how did they meet? What was their courting process like? In your opinion, what was the biggest strain on Alice's relationship with Jack? Why was Alice hesitant to take her relationship with Jack to the next level? Finally, describe how Alice's life was changed when Jack moved in with her, and how she coped with her lonely life after Jack's death. What do all these elements tell the reader about Alice herself, and about Bateson's opinion of marriage and partnership? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

All of the women in the novel struggle with their roles as women in the workplace. Choose two women from the text and explain how their gender affects their role in the workplace. In what ways do gender-inequalities keep the women in the book down? In what ways do the women in the book use these inequalities for their advantage? In the end, what message do you think Bateson is sending to young female readers about their value in the workplace? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

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