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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. Why does Dorcas hope Joe comes looking for her after she breaks up with him?

2. What does Felice's mother have to show in order for her to be able to go inside the store?

3. Who ends up calling an ambulance for Dorcas?

4. Why does Dorcas tell Joe she wants to break up with him?

5. Where are Violet and her siblings living with their mother?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Eight, what does Dorcas notice about Joe?

2. Describe what Golden Gray sees in the forest as he approaches his father's cabin in Chapter Six.

3. What does Vera Louise's mother do when she finds out Vera Louise is pregnant?

4. In Chapter Eight, why does the narrator say Dorcas is getting tired of Joe?

5. Why does Dorcas break up with Joe?

6. Describe what Violet sees when she first spots Felice in Chapter Nine.

7. In Chapter 10, why does Joe get a new job? Does this help his relationship with Violet?

8. What is your understanding of the relationship between Joe, Violet, and Felice in Chapters Nine and Ten?

9. What happens to the cotton plantation thirteen years after Golden Gray confronts his father?

10. Why doesn't Dorcas want anyone to call an ambulance for her after she is shot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Briefly summarize the incident when Malvonne finds the mail behind the refrigerator. What does she do in response? Why does she spend time doing these sorts of things, and what irony do you find in the events?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of Violet and Dorcas. How are their lives different? How are the characters the same?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters of Joe and Acton. Are they similar in any way, or are they mostly different? What does Dorcas find appealing in each man? How does her relationship with each man change throughout the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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