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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. Where does Vance describe his Uncle Jimmy flying him and Lindsay to visit his home in Chapter 5?

2. When was Vance's grandfather (Papaw) born?

3. Vance says in Chapter 9 that his sister Lindsay once told them that above all else, their mother was what?

4. What relative was Vance smuggled into a hospital to visit on his death bed?

5. Vance opens his Introduction by telling the reader that he finds the existence of the book itself to be what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Vance describe the differences between Ohio and Kentucky that Mamaw and Papaw encountered after they moved?

2. What factors led to the lack of ambition in the residents of Middletown, according to Vance in Chapter 4?

3. How does Vance describe his youth while living in Middletown with his mother, sister, and stepfather in Chapter 5?

4. What actions led to Vance's mother's arrest for abuse, according to the narrative in Chapter 5?

5. What led to the migration of hillbillies from Appalachia to the Rust Belt?

6. What were the circumstances of Mamaw and Papaw's move to Ohio?

7. What led to the economic decline of Middletown, Ohio?

8. Why was Lindsay devastated after meeting with the modeling scout in Chapter 6?

9. How did Vance's life change when his mother and stepfather moved the family to Preble County?

10. How did Vance's mother's behavior change after Papaw's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Vance describe the cultural differences that Mamaw and Papaw experienced when they moved from Kentucky to Ohio? How did they cope with these differences? How did Vance perceive the differences between these settings?

Essay Topic 2

How does Vance describe Papaw's death in the memoir? How was Papaw's death discovered? How did the family respond to his death? In what ways did Papaw's death impact Vance?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Vance's observations while working at his first job at Dillman's grocery. What did Vance discover about his neighbors and those within his community? How did these observations influence Vance's future?

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