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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. Which town did Smarsh begin kindergarten in?

2. Why was health care rare where Smarsh was from, aside from the rising costs?

3. What was one of the side jobs Smarsh's mother used to do to make extra money?

4. How old was Betty when she got pregnant with Smarsh's mother?

5. In Chapter 2, what life-threatening occurrences befell Smarsh many times?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What was Smarsh's relationship with her mother like when Smarsh was a young child?

5. In Part I, what do Smarsh's parents do around the Fourth of July to make a significant amount of money?

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

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

8. How does Smarsh define her family's poverty in Part I?

9. What are Smarsh's memories of her father Nick like from childhood?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What connections does Smarsh draw between poor access to education and health care among the rural poor and their cycles of poverty and addiction? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What does Arnie's death reveal about Smarsh's place in her family and her relationship with them as she ages? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What is the connection, for Smarsh, between her own ambition and the academic world? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 701 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample