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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. To where had Carlton’s sister moved to escape judging eyes?

2. What does Ellie think has happened to Jeremiah, since she has not seen him since that first encounter?

3. As Jeremiah and his mother reminisce about his father’s mother, to what do Jeremiah’s thoughts wander?

4. What does Carlton want to know about Miah?

5. Ellie remembers a time she and Anne had been in Central Park. What was Anne's reaction to a Black runner coming at them?

Short Essay Questions

1. What old routine do Ellie and her father discuss?

2. What is Carlton's response to Miah when asked about being biracial?

3. Why is it assumed Jeremiah is placed in the wrong history class?

4. About what do Carlton and Miah discuss on their walk home from school?

5. How does Jeremiah end up in Ellie's history class?

6. What is the cause of Ellie's inability to fully love and trust her mother, Marion?

7. How does Anne react when she finds out Jeremiah is Black?

8. How is racism revealed in Ellie's own home in this section (Chapters 6-10)?

9. How does Jeremiah feel now that his parents are separated?

10. What do various family members tell Jeremiah about his blackness?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Early in the story Miah says he does not fit in, as he is Black but worldly. How does the story reveal that Miah’s father is in much the same way an outsider? What other characters do not fit the typical mold? How does this affect them? How do they deal with this? What is the author’s purpose for creating these unique characters?

Essay Topic 2

Although If You Come Softly was published in 1998, how is it relevant to today? What elements of this book are timeless? How might this book stand the test of time? Why?

Essay Topic 3

How does Jeremiah die? How is this relevant to today? Could his death have been prevented? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,138 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample