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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 William Livingston III secretly put into his housekeeper's room?

2. What does a crazy woman think about while walking down the street in the story "Difficult Women"?

3. Why does Elsie Moreau not want to associate with the new neighbors who are also from Haiti?

4. What kind of exercise does a frigid woman do in the story "Difficult Women"?

5. Who is the housekeeper who works for William Livingston?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does the narrator begin to think that Cassie, Jacob's girlfriend, may be smarter than she seems?

2. Why does Sarah let everyone assume she is white in the story "La Negra Blanca"?

3. Why does Bianca agree to go out with Dean and initially start a relationship with him?

4. What is the basis of Carolina's and Savvie's strong bond in "I Will Follow You"?

5. Why do Savvie and Carolina not have to worry about money or finances?

6. Why does Sarah, who goes by Sierra at work, perform at a strip club?

7. Why is the ceiling at Bianca's office moldy and rotted in "Water, All Its Weight"?

8. Why does Carolina tell Savvie she decided to marry Darryl?

9. What does Sal do to Caridad in the story "Florida" that upsets and offends Caridad?

10. Why is Alvarez hesitant to get more involved with Sarah in "La Negra Blanca," even though he adores her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the story "Water, All Its Weight," both Bianca's parents and her husband eventually abandon her because of the rot and decay that accompany her wherever she goes. Write an essay exploring how Bianca seems to handle being abandoned by the people closest to her at different stages of her life.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing why the narrator has such difficulty fully trusting her lover in the story "Strange Gods." Why do you think the narrator finally comes around to accepting her partner's marriage proposal, on her partner's fifth attempt, at the end of the story?

Essay Topic 3

In the story "I Will Follow You," Savvie knows exactly what her sister Carolina means when she says she married Darryl because she would be no good to a really good man, and Darryl is not a really bad man. Write an essay explaining how the trauma and abuse of Savvie's and Carolina's childhood abduction affects each of their adult relationships with men and with each other.

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