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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 was happening outside during the opening remarks?

2. What did the medical examiner say was Charlotte's cause of death?

3. What did Tanner say about home births in his opening remarks?

4. Who opposed Sibyl and Rand's decision regarding Connie in Chapter 14?

5. What is the name of the investigator Stephen Hastings hired?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Hastings involve blood evidence and home birth experts before Sibyl was even charged?

2. Why did the prosecutor put the state trooper on the stand to testify?

3. Why was Hastings' winning of a motion to review Charlotte's medical records important?

4. Why was it important for the prosecution to make the point that Anne was an enthusiastic student who did not believe in interfering with birth unless absolutely necessary?

5. Why did Sibyl and Rand allow Connie to attend the trial?

6. What was Connie's reaction to seeing the word "vagal" written on a conference room board at Hastings' place of business?

7. Why was the medical examiner's testimony particularly harmful to Sibyl's defense?

8. What was unusual about Hastings' delivery of the manslaughter charges to Sibyl?

9. What did Hastings say about home births to make his point about their safety relative to hospital births?

10. Why did many of Sibyl's clients attend the trial with their infants?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What tone is set for the novel in the very first section of the book? What does the author do to set the tone? Does the book progress using the same tone throughout, or does it change at some point?

Essay Topic 2

How does Connie fit the role of protagonist? What is unusual about her role as protagonist?

Essay Topic 3

How are the other midwives affected by Sibyl's trial? How did they react? What did they stand to lose if Sibyl was convicted?

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