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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 did Smarsh's family think about insurance for property?

2. What did Jeannie tell Smarsh that Betty had wanted to name her?

3. What hit song did Smarsh like to sing along on the radio to that Jeannie did not like?

4. What did Betty's sister Pud nickname Betty's and Arnie's farm?

5. What did Smarsh's family do one July 4 to make money?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why does Smarsh love going to church as a child?

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

5. How do Smarsh's parents, Jeannie and Nick, meet?

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

7. How does Nick become so sick in Part II?

8. In Part I, what is the one fact of Smarsh's family history she thinks most significantly shaped her relationship to August?

9. Why does Smarsh address her child that has never been conceived or born as "August?"

10. Why was Nick's barn burning down such a blow to Smarsh's family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 5, on page 200, Smarsh's father Nick tells her a parable about a hard-working carpenter who intentionally does a shoddy job on a house for the first time in his life, only to have his supervisor hand him the keys to the house as a reward for his years of hard work. Write an essay exploring the meaning of this story as it relates specifically to Smarsh's family's situation and outlook on work, poverty, and opportunity.

Essay Topic 2

Smarsh details many hardships related to the type of work her family members - both male and female - performed over the years. Write an essay analyzing the relationships between work, poverty, rural life, and bodily harm as Smarsh explains them, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does going away to college change Smarsh's relationship with her family and of their perceptions of her? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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