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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 school is on the shirt of the older teenage girl who tells Kelvin to leave Fern along in "Breakfast Program"?

2. At the airport, Big Ma looks favorably at a young black woman who is dressed like what public figure?

3. Where do the Gaither sisters live with their father?

4. Who gets caught by the stewardess and it told to sit down on the flight in "Golden Gate Bridge"?

5. What does Cecile's assumed name mean in the Yoruba language?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is reflected through Big Ma's perceptions of the people at the airport?

2. What is symbolic about Cecile's kitchen in the novel?

3. What is revealed to be in the package sent by Cecile to the People's Center in "Breakfast Program"?

4. How is the theme of family illustrated through the character of Delphine in "Glass of Water"?

5. Why does Cecile send her daughters to the People's Center in "Inseparable"?

6. Why does Big Ma ask a black woman at the airport to look after her granddaughters?

7. How is the theme of counterculture explored in the first chapters of the novel?

8. How would you describe the relationship between the Gaither sisters, Pa, and Big Ma?

9. What is one example of the theme of racism seen in the first chapters of the novel?

10. How is the setting described at the People's Center in "Breakfast Program"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of counterculture in the novel. What are different examples of counterculture that are experienced by the Gaither sisters? What are their impressions of the counterculture in San Francisco in 1968?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Cecile and her relationship to the theme of feminism in the novel. What are displays of Cecile's feminism? What are the repercussions of Cecile's ideals on her children?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the family history of Delphine and her sisters. By whom have they been raised? When did their mother abandon the family? What kind of relationship have the sisters had with their mother up until their arrival in Oakland?

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