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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 is the name of Holly’s father in “Graveyard Day”?

2. How old is Sabrina in “A New-Wave Format”?

3. What song keeps going through Nancy’s head while she’s in the hospital after giving birth to Robert in “Lying Doggo”?

4. When were Waldeen and Holly’s father divorced in “Graveyard Day”?

5. The narrator states in “The Retreat” that when Georgeann married Shelby, her mother warned her about the disadvantages of marrying what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Grover Cleveland described in the beginning of “Lying Doggo”?

2. How is Grover Cleveland described when Jack picked him out as a puppy in “Lying Doggo”?

3. How is Shelby Pickett described when Georgeann began dating him in “The Retreat”?

4. How is the interstate highway compared with the ocean in “The Ocean”?

5. How is Larry described in “Residents and Transients”? How did Mary meet Larry?

6. How did Mary meet her husband in “Residents and Transients”? How are Mary and her husband similar?

7. How is Georgeann’s senior prom described in “The Retreat”?

8. What does the narrator of “Residents and Transients” reveal in the beginning of the story? Who is the narrator?

9. How is Ruby’s relationship with Buddy described in “Third Monday”?

10. How are Nancy’s husband and son described in “Nancy Culpepper”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the characters of Cleo Watkins and Rita Jean Wiggins in “Old Things.” How old are these characters? How would you characterize their relationship to one another? How are the characters similar? How are they different?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the setting of “Still Life with Watermelon.” Where does Louise live with Peggy? Where has Louise’s husband gone? With whom did he leave? What do these settings represent symbolically in the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the relationship of Mary Lou and Mack Skaggs in “The Rookers.” How is their relationship similar to Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship in “Shiloh”? How does it differ? How would you compare their relationship to the others seen in the collection?

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This section contains 820 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample