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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. Who does Ellen blame for her mother's death?

2. What present does Ellen receive from Starletta's family?

3. What writing tense does the author use to tell Ellen's story?

4. How does Ellen explain the item on her arm?

5. At the grave site, who does Ellen avoid looking at?

Short Essay Questions

1. How can a reader tell that Ellen may harbor some prejudices toward African American people?

2. How does the fact that Ellen is concerned with snakes in her new life hint at how she feels about the members of her family?

3. In what ways does the author indicate that Ellen's father killed Ellen's mother?

4. How is Ellen's obsessive side shown in Chapter 6?

5. How is Ellen wearing her mother's clothes symbolic to the story?

6. The author never indicates the time period of when the events in Ellen's life are taking place. How can one tell from the context about clues that Ellen's story happens in fairly modern times?

7. What event leads to Ellen's removal from her father's care?

8. In what ways has Ellen's mother's family shown that they do not care if Ellen is being neglected?

9. Why does Ellen have to make sure that she retrieves the envelope of money from the mailbox before her father can get to it?

10. How is Ellen's grandmother's removal of Ellen's mother's clothes symbolic to the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In class discussion, you learned about the literary elements of a climax. Using these discussions and the text, describe the climax in the story.

Essay Topic 2

What are some of the symbolic elements the author uses in the story? Use class discussion and the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

During the two years that the story takes place, Ellen lived with various people. Compare and contrast the experiences Ellen had with each of these people. How are they similar/different? What effect do they have on Ellen? Use details from the class discussion and the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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