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. What nickname does Ellen give her grandmother?

2. Who helps Ellen with her work in the fields?

3. What will Ellen miss the most about her grandmother's house?

4. Which character dies at the end of Chapter 11?

5. What does Ellen do a lot of while at her new temporary residence after her grandmother's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why didn't Dora want to tell Ellen about Dora and Nadine's usual Christmas ritual?

2. Why is Ellen worried about her grandmother dying?

3. In Chapter 9, Ellen's father shows up at her school; using details from the text describe the scene that followed.

4. Why does Ellen dread the day that Starletta 'forgot about her"?

5. Why does Ellen choose to give Nadine and Dora pictures of kittens for Christmas instead of a picture of a brooding ocean?

6. In what ways does Ellen's grandmother display paranoia?

7. What happens to Julia and Roy after Ellen moves out?

8. In Chapter 11, Ellen tells the reader that her grandmother passed away. Ellen feels that in her death her grandmother left "the score two to one". What score is Ellen referring to and why does Ellen make this statement?

9. Ellen found several questionable items in her cousin's bedroom. Why doesn't Ellen tell her aunt about these items?

10. In Chapter 10 the reader is introduced to Ellen's naivety. Even though Ellen is wise beyond her years, what does Ellen think about the sharecroppers who work on her grandmother's farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using details from the text and in-class research, describe how Ellen was mature, or immature, for her age.

Essay Topic 2

Using the discussions from class and details from the text list some of the ways Ellen had to fend for herself.

Essay Topic 3

Using class discussion and the text as an aid describe some of Ellen's extended family relationships. Is there a closeness between the family? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 648 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample