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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. How much money did Boeing once cut a check to Betty's grandmother for?

2. What structure did Nick Smarsh build that he was most proud of?

3. In Chapter 2, what does Smarsh say their bodies were born into?

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

5. What song does Smarsh remember dancing to in her family room?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part I, why was Jeannie considering calling off her wedding to Nick, and what changed her mind?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do tornadoes, the most violent and common storm on the Kansas plains, symbolize for Smarsh? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your opinions.

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

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.

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