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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 does Florence say her mother used to tell stories about?

2. Whose birthday is it at the beginning of the book?

3. What do John's family forget to acknowledge at breakfast?

4. Where did Florence's father leave for after Gabriel's birth?

5. Who raped Deborah?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Elizabeth's upbringing like with her aunt?

2. How did Gabriel become the star of a religious conference in Chicago?

3. Why does Florence visit the church?

4. What reason does Florence give for her mother being religious?

5. What does the reader learn about John and Gabriel's relationship in this chapter?

6. In what way do Florence and Gabriel's ideas differ about God?

7. What influence does Gabriel have on John's life?

8. What does John see as he walks to church?

9. How does John fall into a fit?

10. What happened when Deborah's father threatened a white man?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the affects of slavery. How did slavery affect the characters in the book? In what way was someone like John affected differently by slavery than someone like Gabriel? How does the memory of slavery affect African Americans today?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the connections between African Americans and Christianity. Why do the students think African Americans embraced Christianity so readily? How did Christianity help African Americans gain more rights? In what way did African Americans use Christianity as a political force?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the values of 1930s.

1) Why was religion so important to black people?

2) What significant changes do you think occurred during this period?

3) Does today's society share any values with 1930s America?

(see the answer keys)

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