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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the beginning of the book, why does Joe say he shoots Dorcas?
(a) He is trying to shoot someone else.
(b) She tries to rob him.
(c) He wants to capture her forever.
(d) He wants to keep the feeling of love going.

2. What does Alice Manfred do for a living?
(a) She is a seamstress.
(b) Cleans wealthy people's homes.
(c) She is a nurse for a black doctor.
(d) Cooks in a nearby restaurant.

3. What does Joe buy Dorcas the first day they meet?
(a) Peppermint candy.
(b) Beer.
(c) A horse.
(d) A dress.

4. How does Rose Dear eventually die?
(a) No one is sure.
(b) She throws herself down a well.
(c) She dies of a heart attack.
(d) She convinces her boyfriend to kill her.

5. How does Violet decide to get back at Joe?
(a) Have an affair in their home.
(b) Leave Joe forever.
(c) Become pregnant.
(d) Kill his pet dog.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Violet envision Joe giving Dorcas?

2. What does Violet's father bring the children when he visits?

3. Where does Violet go when she finds out about Joe's affair?

4. Who attends the parade with Dorcas in 1917?

5. What does Dorcas rescue from her home as a small child?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the series of thoughts in Joe's mind the night he shoots Dorcas in Chapter Five.

2. Why do Joe and Violet fall into such deep debt in Chapter Five?

3. How does Violet learn more about Dorcas in Chapter One? What does she learn?

4. In Chapter One, how does the narrator describe Violet Trace?

5. In what ways does Alice try to protect Dorcas?

6. What is the significance of Dorcas's clothespin dolls in Chapter Three?

7. Describe the relationship between Violet and Alice as presented in Chapter Three.

8. Why is Violet known as "Violent" Trace in town?

9. In Chapter Four, how does Violet imagine Joe's relationship with Dorcas?

10. In Chapter Four, why does True Belle come to Virginia to care for her grandchildren?

(see the answer keys)

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