View a FREE sample

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 terms best describes how the other children treated the one child who had difficulty reading?

2. What does Mrs. Bales say she sees in the block of cherry wood?

3. What is Gertie doing when Old John comes to talk to her?

4. What kind of officer is in the car that stops before hitting Gertie?

5. Who is Callie Lou?

Short Essay Questions

1. Gertie meets a black woman on the train. What does this woman tell Gertie which surprises Gertie?

2. How does the author let the reader know that the car is something the townspeople fear?

3. At the beginning of chapter ten, Gertie awakens from a dream about what?

4. Why does Gertie decide to take Cassie with her to her parent's house?

5. Why doesn't Gertie tell her husband that she performed the surgery?

6. Why had Gertie been saving money for years?

7. What new information is learned about Max's relationship with her husband?

8. Who else, besides Amos, has the doctor treated that Gertie knows?

9. What effect does Gertie's rejection of Clovis' kiss have?

10. What joke does Gertie make with Cassie as they pass by the Tipton family house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on the concept that this novel reflects on the idea of the American Dream. Use specific examples from the text to support your essay.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay describing what the key themes are within this novel. Describe how these themes were developed throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay describing Gertie's realization at the end of the novel. Explain how this realization could change the future for Gertie and her family. Relate her realization to your own life in your description.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 579 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample