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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 the name of Rawlings's herpetologist friend?

2. Why couldn't Rawlings and Dessie sleep during their first night on the river?

3. Which of the following was NOT a bad omen Rawlings noticed on the day the convict escaped in Cross Creek?

4. What type of animal was Ferdinand?

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

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 trouble did ants give Rawlings during planting season on the farm?

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

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

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

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

7. What vegetables were regularly eaten in Cross Creek?

8. How did Rawlings feel about the yachtsman she met in Sanford?

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

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

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

This memoir takes the reader through all four seasons in Cross Creek. Describe each of the four seasons on Rawlings's farm in Cross Creek. What work does Rawlings do on the farm during these seasons? Why do you think Rawlings chose to set up her memoir in the cycle of seasons? How does the cycle of seasons reflect or mirror Rawlings's emotions in the novel? How does the setup reflect Rawlings's views on time and life in general? Do you think this was an effective setup for the memoir?

Essay Topic 3

"Breeding" was an element of personal relationships that was of deep importance to Rawlings. First, describe one person that Rawlings believed was of "good breeding." Then, compare that person to one that Rawlings believed was of "bad breeding." What did Rawlings base these assumptions of breeding on? Was Rawlings always right in her assessment of what made a person good or bad?

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