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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. Why did this woman decide to quit her job as a waitress?

2. Where did Harriet and Jimboy go?

3. Sandy noticed that his reader showed black Africans as what?

4. Sister Johnson and Hager have long conversation about what?

5. Why does Annjee believe Jimboy married her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the relationship between Harriet and Hager.

2. How did Hager believe the blacks should deal with white oppression? Do you agree with her? Why or why not?

3. How does Aunt Hager react to Harriet and Sandy going to a dance? Why does she react this way?

4. Why is Jimboy returning home? Does Aunt Hager believe him? Why or why not?

5. What is learned about Jimboy and Sandy's relationship from their time fishing together?

6. How was Sandy's integrated school segregated? Are you surprised by this? Why or why not?

7. How did Jimboy react to Sandy's lying? How did this affect Sandy? Why was he affected in this way?

8. Why did many black people have to leave Stanton?

9. How does Aunt Hager help others during and after the storm?

10. Why does Harriet run off with the circus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sandy, by the end of the book, decides to focus on his education.

Part 1) Describe Sandy's education throughout the book. At what points does he become excited about learning? Why does he become excited about learning? How does this excitement affect him?

Part 2) How might this decision affect Sandy for the rest of his life? How important is it that Harriett supports this decision? Explain. How does this decision reflect Sandy's upbringing in Tempy and Aunt Hager's care?

Part 3) Do you believe that education is important in your own life? Why or why not? What do you believe is important in your own life? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Most of the characters in this story are women.

Part 1) Why might the author have made most of the characters women? What generalization can you make about these women? What generalization can you make about the men in the story? How do the women compare to the men? What does this reveal about the culture of the time and the author?

Part 2) What might this story have been like if most of the characters were men? Would it be different? Why or why not? Why has the author put an importance and an emphasis on women, especially considering the author is a man?

Part 3) Compare these women to the women in your own life. How are they similar? How are they different? What might account for these similarities and differences? Although most of the characters are women, can men relate to these characters? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

There are several possible themes in this book.

Part 1) What are three possible themes? Describe each theme. How are these themes? Use the text to support your response. Are these also universal themes? if so, how? If not, why not?

Part 2) How do these themes influence the characters? How do they also influence the plot?

Part 3) How can you relate to these themes in your own life? How can anyone relate to these themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,055 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample