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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 pets do the Bedloes have?

2. Who decides to take a leave of absence from school until Daphne is in first grade?

3. When Mr. Belling stops visiting Lucy, where does Lucy find a job?

4. What does Mrs. Myrdal say she caught Lucy shoplifting during one of their excursions together?

5. What happens to the foreigners' car after they install a garage door opener?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Grandma Bedloe find when she and Ian arrive with a basketful of food?

2. How does Ian end up taking care of the children when he comes home for Lucy's funeral?

3. How does Claudia try to help her mother?

4. Why is Doug Bedloe bored with retirement?

5. Describe the way things have changed in the Bedloe household by the Christmas after Lucy death.

6. What is the setting for the Church's indoor picnic?

7. Why does Lucy visit the typewriter shop?

8. How does Agatha try to comfort Thomas?

9. What reasons does Bee give for why the Bedloe family is ordinary?

10. Why does Ian take a leave from absence from college to take care of Daphne, Thomas, and Agatha?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify two characters outside of the Bedloe family who have an important impact on them. How do these characters change the family in significant ways?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the importance of setting in the novel, particularly the Bedloe's home. How does the interior setting reflect the state of mind of the family? When the house gets messy and in disrepair, what is happening in the Bedloe's lives?

Essay Topic 3

How did Ian receive a second chance when he joined the church? Show the progression of Ian's commitment to the church and how it provided him with a source of comfort and support.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 856 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample