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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 Gertie enjoy imagining?

2. Which of the following is not something Gertie's mother talks about in the sitting room with Gertie?

3. How much does Gertie offer to pay the officer for the ride?

4. When does Clovis leave for his physical?

5. What makes everyone stop talking and wait?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Gertie wants to avoid her mother?

2. What happens right before Clovis leaves for his physical?

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

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

5. Why had Gertie been saving money for years?

6. What does Gertie learn as she reads the letter from Clovis?

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

8. What does Reuben hope to see in Gertie as she talks to her mother about her dreams?

9. Why does the boy that Gertie and Cassie meet on the way to school tell Gertie she should not tell lies?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay describing the symbolic value of Gertie's knife transforming from that of being life affirming and life saving to that of being life destroying. Use examples from the text to support your description.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay describing how the author used mini climaxes to keep the reader engaged. Evaluate this as a writing tool using specific examples from the novel to support your evaluation.

(see the answer keys)

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