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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 Russell's mother at the age of eighty?

2. What picture has the landlady hung on her door?

3. Why do Oluf and Lucy Elizabeth stop their correspondence?

4. Who allays Russell's fear of the talk about birds and bees?

5. Why doesn't Uncle Charlie leave the house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Lucy Elizabeth feel was her greatest failure with Benjamin?

2. To whom does Lucy "give up" Audrey?

3. Since he is unable to talk with his ailing mother, what does Russell realize about the past?

4. What are Russell's memories of the women's work in Morrisonville?

5. In Belleville, what does Aunt Pat do to protest the landlady's Herbert Hoover poster?

6. Who is Aunt Pat and why is Russell fond of her?

7. What is Russell's earliest memory?

8. What ghost did Ida Rebecca once claim to see?

9. Who finally bought Uncle Etch's glass coffin?

10. Where has Russell and his family gone to celebrate the hog-butchering season?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Reexamine Chapter 3. Lucy comes of age in a turbulent time. Between what two personal and political ideas is she torn? How does this split manifest itself in her life, according to Russell's account? Provide at least three examples from the text. How has her upbringing contributed to these views?

Essay Topic 2

Examine Russell's relationship with Mimi. How did the two meet? When does Russell fall in love with her? Is he clear about when she falls in love with him? What is the central problem in their relationship? Discuss both sides of the "marriage argument:" why won't Russell marry her? How much influence does Lucy have over his opinions about marriage? What is the end result?

Essay Topic 3

Examine Lucy's letters to and from Oluf. Though Russell did not discover these letters until later in life, they represent an important part of Lucy's history. Go through each letter provided in the text and make a chronicle of the relationship between Lucy and Oluf--what would such a relationship have meant to her? Why must the two break off the romance? Does young Russell notice anything amiss in their day to day life? Be sure to cite quotations from the text.

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