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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. In Jean's dream of getting married, who is her husband?

2. Why does Jean like Elsie?

3. What reason does Jean have for visiting Melanie every Monday?

4. What is her mother's response when Jean asks her why she married her father?

5. How does Melanie end up coming to a church service at Jean's church?

Short Essay Questions

1. Summarize the story of Jean's mother and Pierre.

2. What happens the first time Melanie goes to Jean's church?

3. When the Society has a special conference in Jean's town, what does Jean's mother make her do? Who does Jean meet there?

4. Explain why this statement is relevant to Jean's predicament at school: "What constitutes a problem is not the thing, or the environment where we find the thing, but the conjunction of the two."

5. What does the perfect girl the prince finds tell him?

6. Describe how the church community misunderstood Jean's deafness. What did they say about her?

7. When she is young and still trying to understand men and marriage, what is Jean's general opinion of men? Where does it come from?

8. In the beginning of the chapter, Leviticus, what do Jean and her mother hear coming from Next Door? What do they do about it?

9. What does the headmistress call Jean into her office for? Why? What is Jean's response?

10. How is Jean's deafness discovered?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The action of the novel happens in a community of Pentecostal Evangelists, and the conflict in the story is caused by their beliefs.

Part 1. Who are the Pentecostal Evangelists, and what do they believe in?

Part 2. Have they changed since the 1960s when this story took place?

Part 3. What would it be like to be raised in such a community?

Essay Topic 2

The author frequently uses stories, often ones that sound like parables, to make her points in her story.

Part 1. Give some examples of some stories she tells to enhance an aspect of her story.

Part 2. Analyze the story she tells in reference to her story. What does it mean? What is she adding to her narrative?

Part 3. In your mind, how effective is this tool in her story telling?

Essay Topic 3

One of the central themes of this novel has to deal with the concept of homosexuality in religion.

Part 1. How is this theme developed in the novel?

Part 2. What are some common attitudes of religious groups today in regards to homosexuality?

Part 3.What, in your view, should the role of homosexuality in religion be?

(see the answer keys)

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