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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 of the following was NOT a lake Rawlings and Dessie visited while on their river adventure?

2. Which of the following people feared that the tracks surrounding Rawlings's cabin belonged to ghosts?

3. What type of animal was Racket?

4. What was the average temperature in Cross Creek in the fall?

5. What essential did the yachtsman give to Rawlings when the met in the coastal town?

Short Essay Questions

1. What types of bread were regularly served in Cross Creek, and which was Rawlings's favorite?

2. What vegetables were regularly eaten in Cross Creek?

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

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

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

6. Why did Rawlings keep cows on her farm?

7. How were Dessie and Rawlings greeted by the locals, both black and white, in the coastal towns they visited?

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

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

10. What animals did Rawlings hunt with her Aunt Wilmer, and how did the women get along during their hunting trip?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, Rawlings frequently brings up the idea of "racial memory." How does Rawlings define "racial memory"? How was racial memory significant in the particular era in which Rawlings lived in Cross Creek. Give at least two examples of moments from the memoir in which racial memory was significant. How did racial memory affect relationships in both of these scenes?

Essay Topic 2

Geechee proves to be a symbol of the plight of black servants in the Rawlings's era. First, describe Geechee's physicality and describe how she came to work on Rawlings' farm. Then, describe the personal troubles Geechee had in her life and how she dealt with them. What was the effect of these personal problems on Geechee's relationship with Rawlings? Do you agree that Geechee could be seen as a symbol for the plight of all black servants during this time?

Essay Topic 3

The people of Cross Creek were often plagued with poverty although Rawlings rarely states this blatantly. Choose one family from Cross Creek and describe their poverty. How did the family come to be so poor? How did they deal with their poverty? In what ways did Rawlings succeed in showing the poverty of Cross Creek without having to state it directly? How did living among the poor in Cross Creek affect Rawlings's own relationship with money?

(see the answer keys)

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