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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 many hours was Miriam in labor with Joan?

2. In Chapter 10, what does an old woman who is picking greens want when Joan asks to sketch her?

3. When does Chapter 4 take place?

4. How many months pregnant was Miriam when her mother died?

5. Which wall of the kitchen in Chapter 7 is built from brick?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why did August quit college and start styling hair?

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

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

5. Why is Jax upset when Miriam wears red shoes in Chpater 5?

6. What did Miriam do before she left North Carolina in Chapter 2?

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

8. Why is Miriam in Memphis in Chapter 8, and where is Jax?

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

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

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

A German Jew establishes a deli in the North Memphis neighborhood where the Norths live. Why does the deli become a fixture in North Memphis?

Essay Topic 3

Hazel and Myron meet at Stanley’s deli. What type of relationship do they have? How does Hazel cherish their relationship for the rest of her life?

(see the answer keys)

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