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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 is Smarsh's nickname as a child?

2. How does Nick lose his pole barn in Chapter 2?

3. What does Nick teach Smarsh how to do to fall asleep more easily?

4. What life-threatening injury befalls Betty as a child?

5. What did Smarsh's mother say about paying retail?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Smarsh feel she needs to be so vigilant in childhood?

2. What birthday does Smarsh's father have that Smarsh feels is a sort of poetic for him?

3. What skill did Jeannie and Nick both have in common?

4. In Part I, what happens with Jeannie that Betty takes to heart because she thinks it symbolizes her failures as a mother?

5. In Part I, what is one of Nick's greatest accomplishments in carpentry?

6. What kinds of health epidemics does Smarsh say rural families often face today?

7. In Part II, how does Smarsh describe her great-grandfather, Aaron, drawing on others' memories?

8. What kind of parallel does Smarsh draw between the kittens in Part II and farming families?

9. In Part I, what happens shortly after the birth of Smarsh's brother that upsets and weights on Jeannie?

10. In Part II, what does Betty become so ill with?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Smarsh's complex feelings about being identified as an academically "gifted" child and her confusion over her family's discomfort with the designation, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

How did losing, and then reconnecting many years later, with her son Bo (Robert) affect Betty? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

How does Smarsh feel about the way the media generally portrays white, working class, and rural people like her family? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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