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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 topics were frogs generally associated with?

2. Which of Martha's relatives did Samson marry?

3. Which of the following baked goods was considered from "the high caste"?

4. What did Rawlings comment on when she held a snake for the first time?

5. In what room of her house was the baby cottonmouth snake that Rawlings killed?

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. How did Rawlings overcome her fear of snakes?

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

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

5. How was Rawlings feeling about her life at the time when Dessie invited her on a river trip?

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

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

8. How did Rawlings feel when Kate's brother was in town?

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

10. What vegetables were regularly eaten in Cross Creek?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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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