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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. Chapter 13 begins how far ahead of the Ghanafoo celebration?

2. What sort of odor does Amma believe her best friend has?

3. During Amma's portrait-sitting, she asks Helena to tell her a story about a time when Helena was what?

4. From whose perspective is Chapter 6 narrated?

5. How old is Belinda in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the positive aspects that Belinda will miss about Mary?

2. What contrast does Belinda see between Amma's appearance and her scent?

3. What change in narrative perspective occurs at the start of Chapter 6?

4. How does Belinda succeed in calming Amma down when she has begun to sob during the visualization exercise?

5. What simile does Mary employ in order to describe her idea of an automaton lifestyle?

6. What element of the burial scene in the prologue most upsets Belinda?

7. Who is Amma and in what ways does she act as a foil to Belinda?

8. What negative aspects of Mary's presence seem to affect Belinda?

9. What sort of coping mechanism does Belinda herself long to use after she is "attacked" (80) with Amma's teddy bear?

10. What is the main source of Belinda's anxiety during the shopping trip on which Nana takes her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Donkor’s focus on the theme of class difference in Housegirl. What message is Donkor sending about wealth, socioeconomic status, and privilege?

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Donkor in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative of Housegirl. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Donkor’s creation of vivid characters to populate the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

How is the topic of homophobia treated within Housegirl and how does its treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

(see the answer keys)

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