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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 old is Avis?

2. In "The Store", how long had the protagonist been out of work before he responded to the ad in the newspaper?

3. In "Lost in the City", what time is it when the telephone rings in Lydia Walsh's house?

4. In "The Store", where was the protagonist's first job?

5. What is Mildred following through the city?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss Lydia's mother's reaction to the first boy she brings home.

2. Discuss the significance of the title of "His Mother's House".

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

4. Explain how Santiago makes money.

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

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

7. In "A Butterfly on F Street", describe Mildred's mental state.

8. Why does Marvella keep her children at the school in Northwest?

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

10. Describe the woman Mildred's husband had an affair with.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Explore the role of geography, space, and place in two or more of the stories in Jones' collection. How does Jones capture, explore, and comment on the urban environment of Washington, D.C.? How does Jones enlarge conventional notions of the nation's capitol city? In what ways do the depictions of the city in these stories interact with or build upon on another? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 937 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample