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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 does Ian tell Reverend Emmett before the prayer meeting at the end of Chapter Eight?

2. Who calls Lucy "common as dirt"?

3. What did Ian go to the market for when Agatha and Thomas were sick with the flu?

4. Why did the linen closet get wet?

5. What kind of work does Sister Harriet do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Agatha's appearance when she returns for Thanksgiving after her mother has died.

2. What is the significance of Rita's choice of black-eyed peas and rice for Christmas Eve dinner?

3. Explain Ian's response to the birth of his son.

4. Why do the members of the Church of the Second Chance pitch in to paint Reverend Emmett's house?

5. How does Ian think Daphne reminds him of Lucy?

6. What kind of cradle does Ian build in Chapter Ten?

7. Why do the children think that Ian needs a wife?

8. Why does Doug want to keep particular items of Bee's when the children are cleaning out the house?

9. When Rita begins talking about having children, why is Ian reluctant at first?

10. Describe Ian's uneasiness with Daphne and Gideon's relationship.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Danny find appealing about Lucy? How does she change his life? Provide specific textual examples to support your discussion.

Essay Topic 2

Daphne calls Ian Saint Maybe and Mr. Cautious. Explain how you see the truth of these labels in Ian's actions and demeanor. Do you think he changes as the story unfolds? Describe one experience later in the novel where he is not a Saint Maybe.

Essay Topic 3

What specific details are used to describe Ariana Pennington? What is it about her that makes the children believe she would be a perfect wife for Ian? Why does Ian seem uninterested?

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