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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. Why was Joel tried and convicted in 1983?

2. What did Gwendolyn tell Trethewey to do the day they were going to move out and she left Joel?

3. What organization helped Gwendolyn when she was trying to leave Joel?

4. What did some of the staff at the family shelter say to Gwendolyn when she first got there with her children?

5. What did Joel want to do in Part III that Trethewey was dead set against?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Trethewey's first impression of the medium she visited?

2. What happened after Trethewey's "rational mind" took over when considering what the medium had told her (129)?

3. What did the medium tell Trethewey he was getting a specific strong vibe about?

4. What did Mrs. Messick tell Trethewey's mother about how she was doing in school?

5. What did Gwendolyn write was one of Joel's favorite things to do to torment her?

6. What did Trethewey tell her mother when Gwendolyn told her Joel wanted to adopt her?

7. What did Trethewey go out of her way to avoid in Atlanta when she moved there as an adult?

8. Why did Gwendolyn write in her notes that her marriage to Joel had happened in the first place?

9. What did Trethewey consider about the medium's words to her after she listened back to the recording of their session?

10. What news did Trethewey share with Gwendolyn and Joel that prompted Gwendolyn to stand up for her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring how and when Trethewey became aware of her status and difficulties as a mixed-race child in the American South in the 1960s and 1970s, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Why did Trethewey decide not to tell her mother about Joel's torments and psychological abuses of her? What connection did Trethewey make between her decision not to tell her mother and her mother's murder years later? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What did Trethewey learn from the pages of her mother's notes that were in Gwendolyn's briefcase at the time of Gwendolyn's death in 1985? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 856 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample