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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. Where does Will take Ned?

2. What was the big event of the year for Cassie's tribe in Africa?

3. In what state die Unison live?

4. What does Will do with the musket with which he killed men?

5. Lucy tells one of Will's stories about Unison Randolph who was ___________ at the time of the story.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Lucy do when she learns that Ned has been blinded in a hunting accident?

2. Describe Lucy and Will's separation after Ned's accident.

3. What decision does Lucy make after she has been home again for a few weeks?

4. How does Baby try to re-pay her mother for swallowing the diamond ring?

5. How do Lucy's children feel about Cassie in their lives?

6. What story does Lady Marsden ask Cassie to tell as they wait for Sherman's troops to arrive?

7. What role does Will have in the annual parade of the Daughters of the Confederacy in Raleigh?

8. Describe Lucy's success at teaching Sunday School

9. How do Will's financial decisions make the family vulnerable?

10. How does Will behave when he returns home after Ned's accident?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the overall setting for the novel. Why does Gurganus use the setting he does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

Essay Topic 3

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of loss. Identify at least two examples about loss in the book. Then explain how each example supports the theme of loss.

(see the answer keys)

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