View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many objections does middle sister consider when maybe-boyfriend suggests that they move in together?

2. The final sentence of Chapter 2 asserts that which of middle sister's tactics meant to ward off the milkman has worked?

3. How many miles does middle sister right away agree to run, in the process shocking her running partner?

4. What type of incident had recently reduced the number of buildings in the "ten-minute area" (81) to two?

5. Middle sister finally reveals that she had been how old at the time of the mass-slaughter of animals in her neighborhood?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the milkman?

2. What truths does middle sister reveal to ma during their first conversation about the milkman?

3. Which member of middle sister's family does she despise and why?

4. What event convinces middle sister that the tactics she has been using to ward off the milkman are not working?

5. Why are the students in middle sister's French class so loathe to hear the sky described as any other color besides blue?

6. What evidence does middle sister provide for her claim that third brother-in-law should have been designated as a "beyond-the-pale" (41) by now, but that he has not?

7. What is the symbolism of the British tabloids and newspapers?

8. What does maybe-boyfriend suspect about middle sister's reasons for never meeting him in her own neighborhood?

9. For what reason does middle sister discuss the activities that go on in the park where she likes to go for runs?

10. How do the students in middle sister's class react to French teacher's comments about the sky and which elements of their society have caused them to instinctively feel this way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Milkman and one of the novel's main messages. How does Burns make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Burns’s use of the motif of sound within the novel entitled Milkman.

Essay Topic 3

Could Milkman be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,651 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample