View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Alma recall about Debi's parents?
(a) They were hippies.
(b) They both had limps.
(c) They were deaf.
(d) They were dancers.

2. When Pammy snaps Alma out of her daydream when they are walking, what reason does Alma give for stopping?
(a) She cannot remember where she is.
(b) She thought she forgot something at the restaurant.
(c) She was daydreaming.
(d) Her knees hurt.

3. What word did Paul, Sr. once use to describe "the efficacy of his tree stimulator" (3)?
(a) Fabulous.
(b) Spontaneous.
(c) Treacherous.
(d) Nebulous.

4. What did Pammy and Paulie witness one fourth of July when they were young and playing with sparklers?
(a) A car accident.
(b) Paul, Sr. having sex with another woman.
(c) Their parents having sex.
(d) Paul, Sr. hit Alma.

5. Who is the author of "Mother's Day"?
(a) George Orwell.
(b) George Saunders.
(c) John Cheever.
(d) David Foster Wallace.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Alma recall Paul, Sr. doing the time Pammy slapped her?

2. What did Alma feel her children ruined when it came to her and Paul, Sr.'s relationship?

3. What did Paulie try to give Alma and Paul, Sr. when they nearly lost their house?

4. Where does Alma say she wants to go when Pammy suggests they walk up Pickle Street?

5. What does Alma recall Pammy doing once when Alma tried to adjust her collar when she was younger?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were Paul, Sr.'s vices?

2. How does Alma feel about Pammy pointing out the purple flowers to her on their walk? What is Pammy wearing and how does Alma feel about her outfit?

3. How does Alma feel about how her children turned out despite being such smart children?

4. What does Paulie recall from the night he hit his father in the groin for scaring him and his sister? What does Alma recall?

5. Who is Paulie? Why is he not with Alma at the start of the story?

6. Who is Pammy? Who is Alma? Why are they together at the start of "Mother's Day"?

7. What did Alma do for her husband to entice him to stay home when he began staying out all night when the children were young?

8. What does Alma remember about the time she visited the zoo with Pammy and Paulie as children?

9. Who is Paul, Sr.? What did he do for work? Was he successful? How do you know?

10. Who is Debi Hather? Where does Alma first see her in the story? How does Alma remember her?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 792 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample