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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 does Alma wish Pammy would have worn on their Mother's Day outing?
2. What instrument did Pammy play briefly when she was younger?
3. Why did Alma begin wearing "the wildest underthings" (4) when her children were young?
4. What did Alma once do when Pammy and Paulie did not listen to her at the zoo?
5. What does Alma recall about Debi's parents?
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. Who is Debi Hather? Where does Alma first see her in the story? How does Alma remember her?
4. Who is Paul, Sr.? What did he do for work? Was he successful? How do you know?
5. How does Alma feel about how her children turned out despite being such smart children?
6. What does Paulie recall from the night he hit his father in the groin for scaring him and his sister? What does Alma recall?
7. What does Alma remember about the time she visited the zoo with Pammy and Paulie as children?
8. Who is Paulie? Why is he not with Alma at the start of the story?
9. 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?
10. Who is Pammy? Who is Alma? Why are they together at the start of "Mother's Day"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Read George Saunder's New Yorker interview about "Mother's Day." Write an essay about what you learned about the story through reading the interview. How, if at all, does this interview change the way you view the story's characters and themes?
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay analyzing point of view in "Mother's Day." The story is written in third person alternating between Alma and Debi's perspective. How does this impact the reader's understanding of the story's events? Is this effective? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 3
Write a brief essay analyzing the title “Mother's Day." Explore the ways in which this title connects to the plot and themes of the story.
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This section contains 767 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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