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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 is the date of Miram's parents' wedding day?

2. What day of the week is it in Chapter 11?

3. What color is Miriam's vehicle in Chapter 2?

4. When does Chapter 1 take place?

5. What was the last car Myron bought Hazel?

Short Essay Questions

1. In 1995, what does August think after she receives the phone call from Miriam telling her that Jax hit her?

2. A week after Joan is raped, what does a doctor tell Miriam and Jax?

3. How does Joan describe the house her grandfather built?

4. Who is Derek, and what does Joan remember about him?

5. How does Joan compare herself and Mya to her mother in Chapter 10?

6. In 1978, what does Hazel wear when she is gardening?

7. Who is Jax and where is he from?

8. What does Joan's father say to her mother before he walks out?

9. What does Miriam think it will be like to go back to school?

10. What type of violence was in the neighborhood in Chapter 12?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Setting is the place and time where a novel takes place. What is the setting in Memphis: A Novel? How does the setting evoke feelings or set the mood in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Della is a skilled seamstress. Why would she be considered an artist?

Essay Topic 3

August is Derek’s mother. What type of relationship do August and Derek have? Why has August had to rearrange her life around her son? Why does August feel that she has failed her son?

(see the answer keys)

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