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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 the Mexican family do that entices others?

2. Why does the third grade teacher go yell at someone in “Maricela”?

3. What did Virgil’s father do in Haiti?

4. Why is Maricela having a difficult time in life?

5. What does Curtis see when he looks up at the end of the chapter “Curtis”?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Virgil eventually feel pity for his father?

2. What causes Sae Young to feel a part of the community again?

3. Explain why Curtis and Lateesha originally broke up.

4. Why does Nora want to tell the tourists of the garden?

5. Describe Curtis, as he is now, in terms of his priorities.

6. What is Curtis’ reaction to his tomato plants?

7. How does Amir compare the U.S. to India?

8. What is Curtis trying to show through the growth of the tomatoes?

9. How does Leona help Maricela see things differently?

10. Explain what happens during the rainstorm.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sae Young has had a very difficult life, as has Wendell. Compare the lives of these two characters, and their reactions to those lives. How do their very difference experiences lead them to the same place? What does this say about human tragedy, and our responses to such tragedies?

Essay Topic 2

Kim and Curtis both use the garden to prove something. Discuss these characters in detail, and explain what the garden is helping them to prove, either to themselves, or to others, living or deceased. What are these characters able to show through their gardening? How are they able to connect to their loved ones?

Essay Topic 3

Suspicion of others is a major theme in the novel, as there are many who are suspicious of their neighbors in this particular area. How does the garden help these individuals to lower their guard with one another? What is the garden able to do that merely living together does not do?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 826 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample