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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. Where are women allowed to go to borrow babies in "Graceful Burdens"?

2. What is one of the four places babies may be sent to when they age out of the lending program?

3. Where was Hadley raised?

4. What does a woman deemed suitable for procreation need to do when she wants to have a baby?

5. What religious faith was Hadley raised in?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Hadley tells her family she failed her genetic screening?

2. Describe the card catalog in the library at the start of "Graceful Burdens."

3. What happens in "Graceful Burdens" once a woman is deemed suitable for procreation?

4. Where are library babies sent when they turn three?

5. What happens in "Graceful Burdens" to women when they reach the age of 16?

6. Why is Sidra hired for the caretaker position at the Omaha Public Library?

7. What is the baby lending process at the Omaha Public Library?

8. What do some wealthy women do if they fail genetic screening?

9. What is Hadley's life in Omaha like after she moves following her failed genetic screening?

10. Describe the area where the library babies stay until they are checked out.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring the significance the lending library has on the story "Graceful Burdens." Why do you think the author, Roxane Gay, chose this to support the story's themes? What other ways could the themes of gender and control be portrayed in this type of story?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Roxane Gay's language style and word choice in "Graceful Burdens." What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay comparing and contrasting Hadley and Seraphina in "Graceful Burdens." What details help develop their character and what do these details tell you about them? What is their background? How do they feel about their current reality? In what ways are they similar or different? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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