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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 Sylvia remember about going to the doctor when she was pregnant years earlier?

2. What is one of the things Lana does on her day off?

3. Where do Ava and JJ go after Ava has realized she had a miscarriage?

4. What was Ava's grandmother's name where she would spend Sundays sometimes?

5. What does Ava do at the reservoir?

Short Essay Questions

1. What errand does Sylvia take Lana with her to do in Chapter 22 that is related to Marcus?

2. What does Ava do when she visits the reservoir with JJ in Chapter 34 that is dangerous and unexpected?

3. What happens between Devon and the unnamed old woman who he helps with cleaning her basement?

4. What does Sylvia tell Lana about Devon in Chapter 29 that deeply disturbs Lana?

5. Why does Sylvia go with Ava to the doctor every time she goes to get a pregnancy-related test?

6. How does Charlotte react when Sylvia goes to visit her in Chapter 35?

7. Why is JJ hesitant to bring Ava to Simmy's to eat the first time he sees her in Pinewood after decades?

8. What does Ava hope might happen when she and JJ go to the spot where Devon died?

9. In Chapter 27, what does JJ remember about doing together with his father when he was a child?

10. What does Lana suggest that she and Sylvia do together in Chapter 29 to calm themselves a bit?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the themes of this novel is the lack of opportunities and options for people, especially black people, in a depressed manufacturing town that has been losing jobs and residents for years. Do you think any of the characters on this novel would say achieving the American Dream is still possible? Write an essay explaining why or why not, citing references to the text in your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining why Sylvia acts with such hostility toward both Ava and JJ when they take her to see JJ's house for the first time. What emotions is she dealing with upon seeing the house and the couple there together?

Essay Topic 3

What do you think Sylvia means when she tells Frank Ferguson "There's no getting beyond some things" (353)? Write an essay explaining your answer, taking into account both Sylvia's and Frank's fraught relationships with their own children.

(see the answer keys)

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