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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. How did Mary hear the news that her family had inherited money from Grandma Moore's estate?

2. At the Liars' Club meetings, how did Pete say his father died, which was a lie?

3. What method did Grandma Moore employ to ensure that Mary and Lecia exhibited "proper behavior"?

4. In what room of the house did the Karr family eat their dinner until Grandma Moore came to stay with them?

5. How did Pete react to having his mother-in-law move in with the family?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Mary choose to spend the Green Stamps she collected from the grocery store?

2. What was the truth behind Tex and Belinda, as Charlie told the story?

3. How did Mary initially feel about Antelope when she and her family first moved there?

4. After leaving the hospital, how did Charlie react when visiting the Houston Zoo?

5. What was Pete's reaction to the news that his daughters would be coming to stay with him full-time?

6. What story did Pete regularly tell about the way his father died?

7. How did Pete manage the family's money during their toughest financial times?

8. What was Mary's reaction to seeing her mother in the mental hospital for the first time?

9. In what ways did Mary try to care for her father when he came to live with the family after being released from the hospital?

10. What relationship did Mary have with her grandmother when the pair was living together during Mary's childhood?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After the divorce, Mary and Lecia adopt very different coping mechanisms to deal with their emotional disappointment in their parents. First, describe Mary's emotional coping method while dealing with abandonment issues from her father. Then, compare / contrast that to Lecia's coping method while dealing with abandonment issues from her father. What is the same about their coping methods? What is different? How do these two coping methods come to a head on Father's Day? Be sure to include at least two examples from the text that you believe help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

When Grandma Moore dies, the Karr family has very mixed reactions to the news. Choose two Karr family members that had profound reactions to the death and compare / contrast their reactions. What is the same about their reactions? What is different? How do these two reactions to Grandma Moore's death show the depth and complications in her character? Be sure to cite at least two examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

At the opening of the memoir, Mary explains that her mother has been taken away for being "Nervous." First, explain what the definition of "Nervous" is within the medical community of Mary's hometown. Then, choose one other person in the town that was diagnosed with "Nervousness" and compare / contrast that nervousness to Mary's mother's nervousness. What is the same about their conditions? What is different? Which case of nervousness seems to be more severe? How can you tell? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

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