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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 long ago did Mansfield's mistress return his belongings to his family?

2. Which odd behavior does Marvella's younger son Marcus exhibit?

3. Why does Marvin challenge Marvella in the train station?

4. In "The Sunday Following Mother's Day", how old was Madeleine Walters when her father killed her mother?

5. In "Gospel", what is the only constant in Vivian Slater's life?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain why Marvella scolds Avis at the opening of the story.

2. How do the Gospelteers respond to the fire at the church?

3. Explain why the judge tells Samuel Williams Sr.'s lawyer that he cannot defend a man who will not defend himself.

4. How does the protagonist of "The Store" garner promotion within the store?

5. How does Mansfield's mistress talk to Lydia about her husband?

6. Discuss Lydia's desire to get "lost in the city" in order to deal with her grief at her mother's death.

7. Why does Santiago's grandmother ban him from her house?

8. Describe Lydia's lifestyle in "Lost in the City".

9. In "The Store", why does Kentucky criticize the protagonist?

10. Why was the protagonist of "The Store" initially hesitant to respond to the ad in the paper?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Jones' commentary on the Social Security system in "Marie." How does his creation of the character Marie and his account of her troubles comment on the state of Social Security in the nation? Which details of Marie's story most strongly support Jones'scommentary? Why does he craft Marie the way he does? What is he saying about the way the country treats the elderly?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the role and characterization of the police officers in the work. How do the police interact with the characters in Jones' stories? Is the relationship between the characters and the police officers antagonistic? Respectful? What might Jones be saying about the treatment this community receives from its police officers in this collection?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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