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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 does Alfonso do to entertain his daughter?

2. Galya compares her body to what, so that God can watch the small child pulling up on a chair and Galya’s neighbors get arrested?

3. The townspeople want to leave their funerals and help Momma Galya drop off what in the mailboxes of those who have been arrested?

4. What group of people has been arrested following the murder of the soldiers by the puppeteers?

5. How does Momma Galya react to reading the names posted on the wall?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Townspeople Speak of Galya on Her Green Bicycle,” what does it say Momma Galya Armolinskaya has more than anyone else in town?

2. In “A Bundle of Laundry,” what has happened to Anushka?

3. What takes place right before and after the killing of the soldier?

4. What payment does Alfonso receive for killing the soldier?

5. When and how is Momma Galya compared to the wind?

6. What are two things the speaker says in “Such Is the Story Made of Stubbornness and a Little Air”?

7. The townspeople, who are the speakers, wish they could leave their funerals with Momma Galya and do what?

8. Why does the speaker consider Momma Galya the luckiest woman in the country?

9. How does Alfonso try to make life fun for his daughter?

10. What do the beautiful women of Vasenka do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Momma Galya's behavior is astonishing to those in her community. How do her actions show her intelligence, bravery, and commitment to her homeland? How does the poet reveal her to be both thick-skinned and soft? What leads to her downfall? How do the reactions of her fellow townspeople ultimately destroy her in a way the invading army never could? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Kaminsky mentions the blue canary in "4 a.m. Bombardment." Blue Canary is a term used to describe first responders to a scene. They often do not have respirators or fire protection gear. They are much like the canaries once sent into coal mines to make sure they were safe and had adequate oxygen. Applying this understanding to Kaminsky's poem, what might he be saying about the blue canary? What is the blue canary doing? What is the relationship of the blue canary to others?

Essay Topic 3

Puppets are symbolic in this poem. What is the purpose of the puppets? What do they represent? Are they an effective use of symbolism? Why or why not?

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