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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 fixes Cicero's car for him?

2. What does Lazarus do in his early thirties after leaving the Merchant Marines?

3. What was the narrator's sister particularly fascinated with regarding Howard Hughes?

4. What does the music star say when Ed asks how he knew Ed played guitar?

5. Where does Ed go to eat in the story When We All Get to Heaven?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Lazarus pursue Gina, even though he has known her her whole life and he knows she has a reputation for trouble?

2. Why does Ed Phelps go to the Carnegie Deli in the story When We All Get to Heaven?

3. How does Ed get caught up in Billy Idol's entourage?

4. Why does Lazarus turn himself in to the police station in the first place?

5. Why does Inez Cross Chasten refuse to cook for Howard Hughes?

6. What does Francesca assume Idol's antics with Ed are all about in the story When We All Get to Heaven?

7. What is the narrator's mother in the story The Eternal Glory That Is Ham Hocks pleased about regarding his career path?

8. Why does Howard Hughes buy Bradham's motel in Tim's Creek?

9. What does Lazarus compare his Aunt Tensy's interactions with her family to?

10. Why does Inez Cross Chasten choose not to tell her husband, ever, about Howard Hughes's proposition to her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Kenan writes several different endings in the story The Acts of Velmajean Swearington Hoyt and the New City of God, and why do you think he uses this approach with this particular story? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

How would you describe Cicero's relationship with his uncle, Dax Cross? What role does the disagreement over what to do with the family's land play in the two men's relationship? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does Kenan communicate what Gloria Brown's feelings about her daughter Tamar's homosexuality are? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

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This section contains 750 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample