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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. How long after meeting did the stone thrower and the glass woman get married?

2. What does Stephanie do with Teresa after her father dies?

3. Who leaves her baby with Natasha in the story "Break All the Way Down"?

4. What did Hanna do to a boy who was mistreating her twin sister in high school?

5. How old is Hanna?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator of "Bone Density" find in her husband's suitcase that confirms her knowledge that he is having an affair?

2. How does Hanna feel about her husband Peter in the short story "How"?

3. Why does Natasha seem to feel responsible for her child's fatal accident in "Break All the Way Down"?

4. What helps to bring Natasha and Ben back together in "Break All the Way Down"?

5. What does Natasha finally do that her husband has repeatedly been asking her to do at the end of "Break All the Way Down"?

6. Why does the narrator's mother in the story "A Pat" tell her to befriend the saddest and most desperate people?

7. What unique ability do Hanna and Anna share?

8. What Bible story did Nora Minty, Father Michael's mother, tell to Father Michael many times?

9. Why is Natasha in the story "Break All the Way Down" in her relationship with the man she calls her boyfriend?

10. How does Hanna react when she sees her mother for the first time in 16 years?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the tone Gay strikes in the story "I am a Knife." In this story, the narrator has suffered the traumatic loss of a baby and is later called upon to help save her twin sister's baby during childbirth, and there is a moment when it is unclear whether the narrator is worthy of the trust her twin sister places in her as the narrator holds her life in her hands. Cite specific references to the text in explaining your answer.

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 "La Negra Blanca," what does the character Alvarez symbolize? How does Alvarez's status as an undocumented immigrant affect Sarah's decision not to go to the police after William Livingston rapes her? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text.

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