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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 does Alma remember Debi when they were in high school?

2. Who is the author of "Mother's Day"?

3. What does Alma wish Pammy would have worn on their Mother's Day outing?

4. In what industry does Paulie work?

5. Why did Paulie miss the Mother's Day outing with Pammy and Alma?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a detailed analysis of tone in Saunders's "Mother's Day." Include whether the tone changes or remains the same. If it changes, include details on when, why and whether this change is effective.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Paul, Sr.'s character in "Mother's Day." Who was he? What was his relationship with Alma and Debi? How does his character drive the narrative and speak to the themes of the past and regret?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay describing the imagery used in "Mother's Day." Indicate examples of imagery in explore how the imagery in the story drives the narrative.

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