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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 the name Smarsh comes up with for her unconceived, unborn daughter?

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

3. What did Smarsh remember her father letting her do when they visited Betty in the hospital?

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

5. What kind of car was Smarsh's grandmother driving when she drew up with Arnie at an intersection in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the entire book, once Smarsh comes of age, why is she so determined not to get pregnant? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Smarsh's decision to address much of the book to "August," the daughter she never birthed into poverty, affect the reader's experience of Smarsh's story? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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This section contains 750 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample