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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 happens to Father when Alice is five?

2. How does Alice scare Arlette when she visits her?

3. What does Alice say she feels like, living with Aunt Frances and Uncle Billy?

4. How does Alice become an orphan?

5. Why did Alice's father want to bring Alice and Mother to Florida?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe some of Mother's strengths.

2. Was Father a happy man?

3. What do you think Alice's family was like before her father's death, based on information in the first chapter of the book?

4. How would you describe Mother's relationships with men?

5. Explain the circumstances that lead to Alice becoming an orphan.

6. How does Alice feel about going back to live with Mother after she is institutionalized and Alice moves in with Aunt Frances and Uncle Billy?

7. Describe the Big House.

8. Why do Aunt Frances and Arlette take charge of unpacking Mother's things?

9. Describe Mother's unusual behavior in the first chapter of Florida.

10. How does Nonna feel about Mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

To what degree is Alice's life, personality and destiny shaped by her parents? Analyze the effects of nature, nurture, being a victim, and making choices in Alice's life.

Essay Topic 2

What is the Fivey family legacy? What legacy does Father leave to Alice? To what degree does each character choose to accept or reject the legacy they are given?

Essay Topic 3

Father's vision of Florida as an escape and symbol of hope lives on through Alice and Mother long after his death.

1) Does Alice's vision of hope and paradise change as she gets older? Explain.

2) How do Mother's sun box and the San allow Mother and Alice to continue their Florida fantasy?

3) Why don't Mother or Alice actually ever go to Florida?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 821 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample