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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. Where do Cassandra's sister and brother-in-law live?

2. What put Sherman in the hospital?

3. What time is it when Melanie approaches Cassandra while she is sitting in her brother-in-law's car?

4. What is Cassandra smoking at the opening of the story?

5. How long has Caesar been watching the mentally disabled woman?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Caesar con Carol into participating in his plot to rob the disabled woman?

3. Why is the protagonist of "The First Day" turned away from Seaton Elementary?

4. What is the central difference between Caesar and Sherman?

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

6. Describe the conditions in which Betsy Ann's cousin Ralph grows up.

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

8. How does Cassandra respond to teachers' attempts to set her straight?

9. Describe the character of Cassandra G. Lewis in "The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed".

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the background of each of the stories in the collection, the framework of the government and legal structure appears to hinder or support the characters. Selecting at least 2 or 3 of the stories in the collection, analyze Jones' commentary regarding the success or failure of the U.S. government to provide for the people of this community. Does Jones seem to think that the government has failed its people? Or, that it does a good job protecting their rights? Or, is his commentary perhaps more nuanced? Provide details from the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

In the study of urban life, the theme of containment--of limited possibility for inner city people--comes to the forefront. Discuss the notion of containment or mobility in this collection of short stories. Do the characters seem confined, restrained, or inescapably bound to their circumstances in the city? Or, are they free to move in and out of the physical and social spaces provided for them within the city? How does Jones create this sense of freedom or restriction? And, what commentary does he provide on this condition?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the form of the work as a whole. How and why does Jones join these fourteen stories together in this collection? What common themes, motifs, and images run throughout the collection? Are these stylistic choices effective in accomplishing the goal of the work as a whole? How do the stories interact or speak to each other? Provide evidence from the text to support your claims.

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