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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 bird was considered illegal to cook and eat in Cross Creek?

2. After the stormy month, what crop was typically harvested?

3. Which of the following stereotypes was NOT one Rawlings exposed in her discussions of her servants?

4. Which of the following dead animals was thought to induce rain in Cross Creek?

5. What did Rawlings hang in the orange groves to repel hawks?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Rawlings know that the season was changing from spring to summer based on the activity outside her window?

2. What problem arose when Fatty Blake held a two-county free dinner?

3. What trouble did Rawlings get into with her neighbors around Christmas in regard to her staff?

4. What vegetables were regularly eaten in Cross Creek?

5. Who was Racket?

6. What did Rawlings learn about her fear of snakes while she was out hunting with Ross?

7. What type of snakes lived on Rawlings's property, and how did she feel about these different varieties?

8. How did Rawlings and Dessie navigate the maze of tributaries that were not listed on Rawlings's river map?

9. How did the work around Rawlings's farm change in the heat of the summer?

10. What happened when Rawlings's car got stuck in the soft sand near her farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rawlings had a fascination with the flowers in Cross Creek but particularly with the magnolia trees. First, describe the magnolia trees and explain their life cycle. What relationship do young magnolia trees have to old magnolia trees? What symbolism did Rawlings find in the groves of magnolia trees? How did Rawlings's relationship with the magnolia trees in Cross Creek directly mirror or reflect her relationship with her own family?

Essay Topic 2

Shortly after Rawlings moved to Cross Creek, she was inundated with dating proposals from men who lived there. First, give a brief timeline of Rawlings romantic life throughout the course of the memoir. Then, choose two men who courted and Rawlings and describe them. What was Rawlings's reaction to each of these men's advances? What conclusions did Rawlings make about men in general through the courting process she experienced in Cross Creek? Do you think Rawlings's reactions to the men were too strong?

Essay Topic 3

Although Rawlings often claims to love her servants and to treat them with respect, she often speaks about them, and even to them, in a profoundly racist way. First, describe Rawlings's stance on racism in Cross Creek. What does she blame racism on? Then, describe at least two examples of times when Rawlings regarded her servants in a racist way. What was the reaction from the staff to this treatment? As a reader, what was your reaction to Rawlings's racist statements? Would you consider Rawlings to be a hypocrite?

(see the answer keys)

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