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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. What does Miah's father think when Miah says he sometimes thinks he hears his grandmother whispering in his ear that she is good where she is?

2. What is Miah's response when his father asks why he does not see Miah as often in Chapter 19?

3. What excuse does Miah give when his father asks him to join them in the living room in Chapter 12?

4. What does Ellie think to herself regarding her relationship with Jeremiah at the end of Chapter 15?

5. What does Miah’s father say about his relationship with Nelia?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Miah find his father, when he enters the living room?

2. How does Ellie resond to Miah's request she come for dinner after practice?

3. What are the memories Miah has of the library on Fifth Avenue?

4. Why had Miah not told Ellie about his famous parents earlier in their relationship?

5. What are the types of love Anne describes to Ellie?

6. On the drive to East Hampton, what does Miah's father have to say about white people?

7. How does Ellie feel about her mother learning about a boy in Ellie's life from Anne?

8. What leads to Ellie and Miah cutting class and heading to Central Park?

9. How do other kids at school react to Ellie and Miah being a couple?

10. How does Ellie react when her mother finds out she skipped math class?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Frequently the author mentions rain or sun. What is the connection between the weather and the main characters and events in If You Come Softly? Why might the author have decided to create this relationship? How does noting the weather influence the tone of the book? How does this affect the reader?

Essay Topic 2

How does the portion of the poem in Part 2, Chapter 25 relate to this story and its two protagonists? What is the connection of this poem and the portion Miah recites earlier in this novel? What role does it play in the story?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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