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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 begins to happen to Curtis’ plants?

2. Who created the Biceps R Us nickname?

3. What surprises Virgil about his father?

4. What does Royce and another man build in September?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Sae Young’s life prior to her “accident”?

2. Describe what Nora does to allow Mr. Myles to garden.

3. What is Nora’s relationship with Mr. Myles?

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Why does Virgil’s father lie to Mrs. Fleck, and what does he say?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

What is the importance of Kim in the novel? She is present in the opening of the novel as the pioneer of the garden, and she is the first at the end of the novel to go back and begin planting in the spring. She is also mentioned in Wendell’s chapter as the child who gave him hope. What do you think the significance of this is?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 786 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample