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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. Which judge did Betty have a particularly friendly relationship with?

2. Who was one of Betty's sisters?

3. What did Grandma Betty say about a man who did not earn his keep?

4. What was one of the things that hindered Betty from retaining custody of her son with Bob?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In Part IV, how does Bob break Betty's heart?

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

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

5. Why did Betty leave Ray, Jeannie's father?

6. What made Betty's poverty more tolerable to other people, in Smarsh's opinion?

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

8. What habit does Smarsh pick up in Part III that she sometimes tells God she will try to stop?

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

10. In Part III, what is Smarsh's stepmother Chris like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the connection, for Smarsh, between her own ambition and the academic world? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

How does Smarsh feel about the way the media generally portrays white, working class, and rural people like her family? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What kinds of influences did Smarsh's various teachers have on her life while she was growing up, in both positive and negative ways? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 709 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample