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. What is Debi's daughter's name?

2. What does Debi recall Paul telling her in the last year of his life?

3. How long had it been since Debi last heard from her daughter?

4. Where did Al Fowler and his cousin leave Debi's daughter after she ran away?

5. What does Debi finally do when Alma continues to glare at her "as if stuck"(8)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has Debi done in her past which she admits makes her no angel?

2. Who is Vicky? Describe her relationship with Debi.

3. How does Debi try to cope with the fact that Vicky ran away from her?

4. What was Debi's relationship with Paul, Sr.? How does Debi feel about Paul and his behavior?

5. Describe the scene at Paul's gravesite a few days after his funeral.

6. When did Vicky leave? Where did she go? With whom? What was the last word Debi received from her daughter?

7. Why is Debi surprised Alma's children pay any attention to her on Mother's Day? What did Debi see Paulie doing at Wegman's the day before Mother's Day?

8. What does Pammy say to Alma when they first see Debi? How does Alma respond?

9. Why does Debi think she should have been born in the future?

10. What happened when Vicky brought a boy name Rob over? In what way did Debi embarrass Vicky? What did Vicky do that Debi found absurd?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay comparing and contrasting Alma and Debi in "Mother's Day." What details help develop their character and what do these details tell you about them? What is their background? How do they know each other? How do they interact? In what ways are they similar or different? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay examining the ending of "Mother's Day." How did the ending fit into the storyline? Do you think the ending was effective? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining Debi's sweeping as a symbol in "Mother's Day." In what scenes does Debi's sweeping appear? What is the context? How does this develop the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 786 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample