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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. What color car does Penny drive?

2. How does the protagonist of "The Store" get by day-to-day without a job?

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

4. What was Angie holding in her hand at the time of her death?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Explain how Santiago makes money.

3. Discuss the way the dreadlock man responds to Marvella's children.

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

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

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

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

8. Describe the first job the protagonist has in "The Store".

9. How does Samuel Jr. react when he learns that his sister has kept contact with their father over the years?

10. In "Gospel", describe Vivian L. Slater's Sunday morning ritual.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the collection, Jones presents a fairly nuanced portrayal of gender roles in the African-American community of Washington, D.C. Select at least 3 short stories from the collection and discuss the ways in which the characters in these stories respond to the roles imposed on them based on their gender. Do these characters conform or rebel? What do we learn about them based on their compliance or defiance? What might Jones' message regarding gender roles be?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Crime is a central theme in many of the stories in this collection. Explore Jones' commentary on the type(s), severity, and impact of crime on the African-American community in Washington, D.C. What is the central message regarding crime? How does Jones convey this message in the stories in the collection? Are the stories effective in carrying this message to the reader?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 934 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample