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 begins to happen to Curtis’ plants?

2. When did Virgil have Mrs. Fleck as a teacher?

3. What happened to cause Sae Young to be afraid?

4. Who is the black taxi driver that runs through the garden to water lettuce?

5. What is Royce paid for this job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what happened to make Sae Young afraid of the world.

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

3. Why does Maricela resent being pregnant?

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

5. Why does everyone in the garden want to help the girls in the chapter “Maricela”?

6. What is Mr. Myles’ reaction to the garden?

7. Explain why Virgil becomes angry and ashamed at his father.

8. Describe Sam’s contest, and the winning idea.

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

10. How does Leona help Maricela see things differently?

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

In the novel, Sam makes a conscious effort to make the neighborhood friendlier. Choose three times in the novel where another character mentions Sam, and explain how his efforts have helped the community. Why do you think Sam tries to improve his neighborhood? Are his efforts successful?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 770 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample