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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 grade was Isaac in when he said he no longer wanted to play piano?

2. How old was Jacob's great-grandfather when he was freed?

3. How many people could the dance floor at Jake's Juke Joint hold?

4. When Jacob did get to school, how often did he go?

5. Where did Rachel want to go to college?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jacob describe the poverty he experienced as a child?

2. When and how did Jacob and Rachel meet?

3. When did Rachel start drinking and why were those times difficult?

4. How was Jacob educated?

5. What were men and women's roles in the 1960s?

6. What was the Tuskegee syphilis experiment?

7. How and when did Esau die?

8. How did Rachel's crushed dream to go to college affect her marriage to Jacob?

9. How was Jacob brought up by his grandparents?

10. Why does Jacob write to Isaac?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Metaphors and similes are figures of speech that are used to make comparisons between things. Metaphors seem to imply an equal comparison, while similes seem to imply a similarity between two things. Does Black use more metaphors or similes in the novel? How does the use of metaphors or similes help readers comprehend concepts? How does the use of metaphors or similes help readers make the writing more interesting?

Essay Topic 2

Isaac had a lead role in a school play. How did Jacob feel when he went to the performance? Why was Jacob terribly embarrassed and ashamed?

Essay Topic 3

Jacob’s grandfather was a stern, authoritarian man. What relationship did Jacob have with his grandfather? Why did he struggle with how his grandfather was remembered after his death?

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