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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 makes Irene's hair look like Mrs. Biggs' forsythia bush?

2. What is Irene watching on TV while Sam and Emmett clear out her old room?

3. What does Sam think the baby's hand is like?

4. What does Sam's mouth taste like to her in the morning after being at Tom's?

5. The Washington Monument is a gleaming what against the sky, according to the author?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why hadn't the the previous occupant of Sam's house, Bessie, thrown away the liquor bottles her husband had drunk from?

2. What do the arms of the willow tree shadowed on her wall remind Sam of?

3. In Dwayne's journal, what happens when he follows the Vietcong?

4. How does Sam perceive the Washington Monument and the flag near the Vietnam Memorial?

5. How does Sam feel about cats and what does Dawn say about them?

6. Why does Sam have trouble caring about her father?

7. How does Sam speculate on how women would run the world if they had the power men had?

8. What is happening to Sam's perception as she spends time in Tom's apartment?

9. What does Sam hope Tom will do the day after their encounter at his apartment?

10. How does Sam react as they are getting closer to the Vietnam Memorial?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Anita loves Emmett very much. Why can't Emmett have a relationship with her? What does Sam speculate at different times in the book might be his problem with Anita and women in general?

Essay Topic 2

What happens to Sam's impression of her father when she finds his journal?

Essay Topic 3

Sam is resentful of her mother's new baby. Explain why.

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