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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the protagonist of "The First Day" notice as her mother walks away?
(a) The way her mother seems out of place.
(b) The spot on her sock which she darned the night before.
(c) The way her clothes do not fit.
(d) The cheap material her purse is made from.

2. In "The First Day", the admissions staff members at Seaton Elementary look like models out of which of the following magazines?
(a) Good Housekeeping.
(b) Marie Claire.
(c) Vogue.
(d) Ebony.

3. In "The First Day", what time does the protagonist's mother promise to pick her up?
(a) 2:00.
(b) 11:00.
(c) 12:00.
(d) 1:00.

4. How does Betsy Ann's father deal with the dead pigeons?
(a) Betsy Ann's father returns them to Miles and demands a refund.
(b) Betsy Ann's father allows her to find and deal with them as a life lesson.
(c) Betsy Ann's father places them in a burlap sack and disposes of them on the way to work.
(d) Betsy Ann's father cooks them for breakfast.

5. What smell does the protagonist of "The First Day" notice each time she turns her head?
(a) Gardenia perfume behind her ear.
(b) Chemically treated hair.
(c) Fresh soap.
(d) Dixie Peach hair grease.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the protagonist's mother see as the "beginning and end of the world"?

2. What does Cassandra fight with her brother-in-law about?

3. What does the protagonist of "The First Day" wear in the opening scene?

4. How old is the protagonist of "The First Day"?

5. In "The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed", what is Cassandra eating at the beginning of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The First Day", how well prepared is the protagonist's mother to enroll her child in school?

2. In "The First Day", why does the little girl at Walker-Jones Elementary look at the protagonist's mother as though she is "diseased"?

3. How does the protagonist's mother feel about leaving her child at the school in "The First Day"?

4. Describe the errand Gladys' mother pays Cassandra to run.

5. In "The First Day", how does the protagonist's mother prepare her for the first day of school?

6. What do the pigeons symbolize?

7. Why does the protagonist's mother slap her across the mouth in "The First Day"?

8. How does Robert respond to his daughter's desire to raise pigeons of her own?

9. What does Betsy Ann do to lose her father's trust? Why does he become so angry?

10. How does Cassandra response to Roger's attempt to rape Melanie?

(see the answer keys)

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