View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Smarsh's father born?

2. Which baby animals did Smarsh love in Chapter 2, only to be devastated when they died?

3. What was Smarsh's grandfather commissioned to lead in 1949?

4. What poplar concert series meant to provide assistance to farms did Arnie say he never saw a dime from?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In Part I, what is one main reason Betty says yes when Arnie asks her to dance the first time they meet?

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

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

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

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

8. How does Nick's pole barn burn down?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In Chapter 7, how does Smarsh say she knows she is finally no longer poor? What does her large new house represent to her? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 720 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample