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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 was Nancy afraid of at school?

2. Which of the following did NOT describe Nancy's mother?

3. Which of the following was NOT part of Carolyn's admitting process in prison?

4. What did Nancy know she had to do to avoid being dumped by her boyfriend?

5. What length of time was Carolyn's sentence?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Carolyn think that she was so out of place in the holding cell, and how long did it take before she was convicted?

2. How did Tabatha describe the attic where her family and friends did drugs?

3. Why was Wally originally asked to come to the York Correctional Institution in 1999?

4. Which animals from a classic movie haunted Nancy Birkla's childhood?

5. When did Wally Lamb know that he wanted to be a teacher, and in which type of students was he particularly interested?

6. How did Nancy describe Isadore's life?

7. How did Nancy view "The Wizard of Oz" once she worked through some psychological issues?

8. What changes did Wally see in the women as they wrote their stories?

9. What are the two chapters in Carolyn Ann Adams' story, "Thefts" and what does she cover in each?

10. How did Nancy begin her story with a memory of her father and his airplane?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What impact did some of the women's estranged relationships with their mothers have on their lives? What emotional wounds did these women suffer? How did the rejection or abuse by their mothers impact the women's relationships with other people? Did the women feel like she deserved to be abused because they were unworthy? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

The women's stories contain more than one iteration on the theme of disappointment. Identify at least two characters in the stories who either embody or experience disappointment then cite an example to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Hatred takes on an almost human persona in the women's stories. What was the source of much of the hatred? Why was the hatred pervasive? What is this literary technique called? Cite examples that support this position.

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This section contains 1,100 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample