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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. In what town did Rawlings and Dessie meet the yachtsman?

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

3. How did Rawlings describe the king snake that lived near her driveway?

4. Which of the following creatures was Rawlings sure was intelligent?

5. According to Rawlings, which season suggested "relaxation and indolence"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of work did Samson do on Rawlings's farm?

2. What weapons did Rawlings believe all African-American servants had over their employers?

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

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

5. How did Rawlings kill the cottonmouth snake she found in her house?

6. What bad omens appeared on Rawlings's farm the day the murderer escaped in Cross Creek?

7. How did Rawlings's diet change when she was hospitalized in Cross Creek?

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

9. How did Martha and Rawlings define "varmint"?

10. Who was Mr. Butler, and where did he die?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

When the memoir first opens, Rawlings spends a lot of time discussing the land of Cross Creek and her relationship to it. First, describe the land as Rawlings did in the opening of the memoir. What were your first impressions of the land? Did Rawlings's first impression of Cross Creek remain the same for the duration of the memoir?

Essay Topic 3

How did Widow Slater's religious beliefs affect her daily life and the life of her children? How did Rawlings treat the Widow Slater and her family? How did Rawlings's treatment of the family compare to the way she represented the family in the text? What can the reader learn about Rawlings's own religious beliefs through witnessing her reaction to Widow Slater's?

(see the answer keys)

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