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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. Why was Tio Juan distraught?

2. What is the “Garcia Equation”?

3. Where is Kim from?

4. How old was Leona’s grandma when she died?

5. What type of neighborhood is Ana’s?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Leona decide she needs to do something about the lot?

2. At the end of this chapter “Sam,” why does Sam claim the garden is a reflection of Cleveland?

3. Why do you think Wendell becomes attached to the bean plants, as Ana did?

4. How do the plants give Wendell hope?

5. Why do you think Tio Juan becomes “childish” in the book?

6. What is the cultural problem Sam finds about the lot?

7. What does Wendell mean when he discusses the phrase “And a little child shall lead them”?

8. What tragedies has Wendell experienced, and what are the effects on his life?

9. Why does Kim plant beans in the vacant lot?

10. Why do you think Kim wants to remain hidden when she plants?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, the characters mention fighting a number of stereotypes. Choose three characters from the book, and explain how their lives have been impacted by the stereotypes either about them, held by others, or held by them about others. How do these stereotypes damage their relationships with others? What, if anything, changes them in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

What does the title mean? How is it used in the book? How are the pioneers of the garden “Seedfolks”? What did their efforts mean to the community? How did they enhance their environment?

Essay Topic 3

Sam mentions the garden as a paradise, and compares it to Eden. Wendell points out a biblical verse “A child shall lead them.” Sam notes that the garden is a reflection of society. If this is the case, compare and contrast the society depicted by those in the beginning of the novel with the society depicted by those at the end of the novel. Do you think the garden was the only thing responsible for the change? Why or why not? How did Leona, Sam, Nora, Sae Young, and the other characters all help to make the community a better place?

(see the answer keys)

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