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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. Who was Smarsh's new teacher after her parents divorced and Smarsh and her mother and brother moved to the Wichita area?

2. In Chapter 5, how much did Nick pay in rent for 16 years for his apartment?

3. Which ex-husband of Betty's did Jeannie remember as a "belt-snapper?"

4. Where did Betty sometimes take Smarsh with her when there was no one to look after Smarsh as a child?

5. What did Smarsh think Jeannie's boyfriend Bob's house decorating style demonstrated about he and Jeannie?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the family of Vietnamese immigrants do to express their gratitude for Jeannie's help getting them their house?

2. Why does Smarsh think Betty did well in her job at the courthouse?

3. What was one reason Bob found it fairly easy to get full custody of his and Betty's son in Part IV?

4. Why does Smarsh go to live with her grandparents just before turning 11?

5. What happens to Betty's mother in Part IV that has a negative effect on Betty and her young siblings at the time?

6. In Part IV, what was Betty's husband Bob like to both her and Jeannie?

7. What were some of the government assistance programs Smarsh and her brother benefitted from as children?

8. In Part IV, what did Ray once offer to do for Betty that was criminal but that Betty tells Smarsh she considered?

9. Why were Smarsh and her brother embarrassed when their father drove them to school in Part III?

10. How did Jeannie's boyfriend, also named Bob, treat Smarsh?

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

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

Write an essay analyzing Smarsh's complex feelings about being identified as an academically "gifted" child and her confusion over her family's discomfort with the designation, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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