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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 incentive does someone offer Ellen when they show up looking for her?

2. What hobby does Ellen remember helping her mother with?

3. What grade is Stella in?

4. Why does Ellen think Starletta likes white boys?

5. Why does Ellen's grandmother threaten to break Ellen's hands?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Using detail from the text to support your answer, why does Ellen decide to treat Nadine's residence like a hotel?

3. Why does Ellen begin signing her papers with the last name Foster?

4. What are some of the family secrets that Ellen uncovers/discovers while Ellen is living with her grandmother?

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

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

7. During Ellen's Christmas stay at Nadine's, what does Ellen hope for?

8. Using details from the text, describe how Ellen spends her time at Nadine's house.

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

10. What is the post-church ritual for Ellen and her new family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

List and discuss several ways that Ellen's character evolved throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 2

During Ellen's mother's funeral, it was raining. How is the rain a symbol of the hardships/storms coming up in Ellen's life?

Essay Topic 3

Using the context clues located in the story, how can the reader determine the setting even though the author and narrator never explicitly provides the reader with the information?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 569 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample