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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 servants did Rawlings believe would "have a finger in my pie from beyond the grave"?

2. Which flowers did Rawlings and Dessie study on their river adventure?

3. Which of the following themes did Rawlings believe was "customary in slave psychology"?

4. What part of Samson's body was permanently injured when he was shot by Henry?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How did Rawlings overcome her fear of snakes?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the opening of the memoir, Rawlings is quick to point out all her personal flaws to the reader, particularly in regard to her skills at Cross Creek. First, explain how Rawlings came to live on Cross Creek. Was she prepared for this move to the farmland? How did Rawlings's personal history lead her to list all her personal flaws. In the end, do you think these personal flaws helped or hindered Rawlings during the time she lived on Cross Creek?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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