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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 Joe think about Violet's crazy episodes?

2. What happens the same day Dorcas's mother is burned in the house fire?

3. Where does Dorcas insist Joe take her?

4. Why does Joe begin tracking Dorcas down with a gun?

5. What does Violet try to do to Dorcas's face?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the time Joe sees Dorcas for the very first time.

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

3. Describe what Violet does with the picture of Dorcas in Chapter One.

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

5. Describe the first time Joe officially meets Dorcas.

6. Describe how Dorcas's mother dies.

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

8. How does the narrator describe the way Joe and Violet meet in Chapter Four?

9. Describe the different things Joe and Violet see in the picture of Dorcas.

10. Describe the death of Dorcas's mother.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the relationship between True Belle and Vera Louise Gray. Do the events they share bring them together or pull them apart? How does each of their relationships with Golden Gray compare to the other?

Essay Topic 2

What impact do you think Alice Manfred has on Dorcas? Do you think Dorcas is the same sort of person id she is not being raised by Alice? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The mothers of Violet, Joe, and Dorcas die tragically, abandon their children, or kill themselves. Why do you think Morrison includes this similarity between these three characters? What does the loss of one's mother symbolize? Do you think it effectively unites the characters, or does it pull them apart?

(see the answer keys)

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