View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What cures the sensitive princess in the story?

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

3. Why was Jean's mother suspicious of a package that came from Wigan?

4. What function does Jean's mother's friend make wreaths for?

5. What important notion does Elsie impart to Jean?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the prince in the story, and what does he believe he wants?

2. How is Jean's deafness discovered?

3. How does Jean get to go the fair once a year? What happens to her there one year with a palm reader?

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

5. How does Jean make friends with Melanie?

6. What happens when Jean tries to tell her mother that she is going deaf?

7. Who does Jean eventually get a Saturday job from? What does she do?

8. Describe the dream Jean has again and again about marriage.

9. 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?

10. Why don't Melanie and Jean think that what they share is what the pastor labels as "unnatural passion"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the novel Jean spends the better part of a chapter trying to understand men.

Part 1. Describe the techniques the young Jean employs to get information.

Part 2. What information does Jean gather, and what surmises does she make from it?

Part 3. Jean was clearly suffering from a lack of quality, clear information given to her. What role should her parents and/or teachers and pastors have played in her understanding, or is such confusion a natural part of the process?

Essay Topic 2

At one point Jean describes her mother as "Old Testament." What do we mean by that phrase?

Part 1. Describe the Biblical Old Testament.

Part 2. Describe the Biblical New Testament, comparing and contrasting it to the Old Testament.

Part 3. Give some examples and explanations about things that might be referred to as Old Testament.

Essay Topic 3

One of the five fundamental components of fiction discussed in class is Theme.

Part 1. What are themes?

Part 2. How is theme different for expository essays versus story telling?

Part 3. What are some of the themes from the novel? How are they developed?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,056 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample