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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 the house exterior look like in Chapter 2?

2. What does Rose see in Chapter 13?

3. In Chapter 10, why is Amanda angry at Clay?

4. Where do Amanda's and Clay's gaze stray at the beach?

5. Who had G.H. and Ruth finished the basement for?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 13, what does Rose see outside that is highly unusual and a bit unsettling?

2. In Chapter 14, what does Ruth tell G.H. she is thinking about in terms of happy memories?

3. What is Rose's and Archie's relationship like?

4. How do Amanda and Clay feel about the vacation house?

5. Why do G.H. and Ruth ask to stay the night at the vacation house?

6. Why does Clay indulge Rose's request to take many books to the beach?

7. How do the adults try to get information about what is happening in the outside world in Chapter 11?

8. What does G.H. offer to Clay and Amanda to try to convince them to let him and Ruth stay the night?

9. What does Ruth notice that she does not like about Clay's and Amanda's presence in the house?

10. Why does Amanda refuse to entertain Rose's entreaties to try to meet up with her friend Hazel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Rose decides not to tell the adults about the many deer she sees the morning after the blackout, and how does Rose end up embodying some survival traits that many others in the novel seem to lack? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Alam approach issues of race and class as they relate to Clay, Amanda, Ruth, and G.H.? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What are your first impressions of Amanda, Clay, and their two children in the first several chapters of this novel, in terms of the types of people they are and what kind of moral foundations they follow? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your opinions.

(see the answer keys)

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