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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. In what room do Joan and Mya sleep in Chapter 10?

2. In Chapter 9, what does August see Jax do when she comes to pick him and Mariam up?

3. In Chapter 2 when Miriam stops at a gas station, how much farther does she have to drive to Memphis?

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

5. At the end of Chapter 6, how many times does Miriam reach up to grab the phone before she manages to get it?

Short Essay Questions

1. What wakes Joan in Chapter 6, and what does she see when she goes downstairs?

2. How do Miriam and Jax meet?

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

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

5. Why does Miriam stop at an Exxon filling station in Chapter 2, and does he get what she wants?

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

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

8. What does August do when she sees Jax choking Miriam in Chapter 9?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Myron North built the Memphis house. What does the Memphis house mean to Miram and Joan? Why do they feel differently about the house?

Essay Topic 2

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 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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