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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 news does Mr. Jamison bring on New Year's Day?

2. How long did they work before Stacey decided to go home?

3. What happens to Cassie during canning season?

4. Why doesn't Papa and Uncle Hammer continue searching for Stacey?

5. Why does Cassie accuse Suzella of disliking "colored" people?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Papa describe their family without Stacey to Cassie?

2. What information does Mr. Jamison have that causes Papa to again begin his search for Stacey?

3. What are the demands of the farmers who arrived in front of the courthouse?

4. Explain what happens when the Logans arrive in Stokesville.

5. What does Cassie remember being told about Wordell when she finds him standing over the dead cat?

6. How does the ending of the story relate the title, "Will the Circle be Unbroken?"?

7. Explain why Wordell's comments about Cassie's unkind treatment of Suzella matter so much to Cassie.

8. What impact does the arrival of Suzella have on Cassie?

9. Explain why the farmer continued to show disrespect for black people even as he discussed reorganizing the union to include both white and black farmers.

10. Describe what Stacey says about his experience after leaving home to work in the cane fields.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay describing the boycott mentioned in the story and what happened to Mama and Papa Logan because of it.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing TJ Avery's trial. What things might have made the difference in changing the verdict to "not guilty"? Was the judge who presided over the trial impartial? Compare the manner in which TJ's jury was chosen may have differed from the way in which juries are normally chosen. In your mind, was reasonable doubt of TJ's guilt proven?

Essay Topic 3

What did you learn from the novel about pre-civil-rights history? Write an essay detailing how closely this novel portrayed what actually happened during that period in our history? Give examples from the novel.

Resources:

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/A-Lesson-Before-Dying-Critical-Essays-The-Pre-Civil-Rights-South.id-63,pageNum-58.html

http://neabigread.net/books/lessonbeforedying/teachers/LessonBeforeDyingHandout2.pdf

http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xcivilrights.html

http://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1294360

http://www.centralhigh57.org/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/

http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/civilrightstv/

http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/civilrights/index.htm

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0pro-1

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 908 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample