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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. Robin's story began on January 1 in what year?

2. What was always important in Bonnie's family?

3. In her story, Barbara said that childhood memories were like ______________________.

4. Who was Brenda's first boyfriend?

5. Who is the neighbor for whom Diane's father left his family?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the Christmas basket program in prison?

2. What memory from her past did Mo'Shay have that made her apprehensive about having sex with Reese?

3. Who was Manny and what negative impact did he have on Brenda's life?

4. Who were Barbara Parsons Lane's first visitors while in prison, and what did she consider to be the worst part of her incarceration?

5. What did Robin note about the less than spiritual activities going on during mass?

6. How did Diane's father betray her trust with violence while on a trip to Chattanooga?

7. How did Diane Bartholomew describe her very difficult childhood?

8. What was Diane's instinct when viewing her father's dead body?

9. What effect did Barbara think that her incarceration had on her children?

10. What did Brenda's mother do to her one night from which her father had to save Brenda and what did her father pray for each night?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Several of the women's stories are classic stories of loss and renewal. What does that classification entail? Why do some of the stories fit into this category? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Betrayal is an important theme in the stories. Can you cite an example to support this theme? Name two other themes and cite examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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