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 does Sam note is a hobby of his?

2. What does mother purchase for Tio Juan?

3. What word does Sam use for the garden?

4. What is Tio Juan doing when Gonzalo finds him?

5. What is the “Garcia Equation”?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do the plants give Wendell hope?

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

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

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

6. How does Sam try to make people in the neighborhood friendlier?

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

8. How does Leona finally convince the city officials to meet with her?

9. How does gardening help Tio Juan in the chapter “Gonzalo”?

10. Describe the bottle incident, and Sam’s fears.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Florence notes that the first gardeners were the pioneers, the original Seedfolks. Over time, how has the area changed, according to her stories? What do landlords begin to do? How did Sam’s watering efforts lead to a permanent solution? What has changed with the soil? What has been the lasting effect of the garden on the society as a whole?

Essay Topic 2

Royce does not have a chapter in the novel, and yet he is mentioned by several characters. Who mentions him, and why? What does Royce’s character bring to the novel that enhances the author’s message? What is Royce’s background, and how do people see him originally? How does this change over the course of the novel, and why?

Essay Topic 3

In several chapters in the novel, characters go from being unable to function in society, to being a vital part of a thriving garden. How did this happen for Sae Young, Nora’s client, and Tio Juan? Why did the garden help them? How did it allow them a chance to become something they otherwise could not have been?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 829 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample