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

2. What did Smarsh's grandfather carve the year she was born?

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

4. Which large company did Nick get a job doing roof work for?

5. What was one reason Smarsh was singled out as being an outcast at her elementary school?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. In Part II, what event with small animals greatly upsets Smarsh?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are some of the lessons Betty, Smarsh's grandmother, taught Smarsh about work and work ethic while Smarsh was growing up? Write an essay explaining 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

Why did the older women in Smarsh's family, particularly Dorothy and Betty on her mother's side, move so much during their lives? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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