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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. To which famous artist does Anderson allude when she describes finding out about her father's PTSD-fueled beating of her mother before she was born?

2. At what young age did Anderson learn how to drive a car?

3. When Anderson's father saw his friend die in front of him, they were both repairing airplanes in what location?

4. In the prelude, Anderson states that "this book reeks of" (3) her what?

5. Anderson's family called her what kind of animal in order to make fun of her weight?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way was a gym teacher at Anderson’s school instrumental in her process of healing?

2. What painful realization does Anderson have during high school in relation to her parents?

3. In what form is Anderson's memoir written and which of the text’s goals does this choice help Anderson to fulfill?

4. To what element of life is the metaphor of "chum" connected in the poem of the same name?

5. Provide an example of Anderson’s use of personification within a particular poem.

6. What kinds of successes does Anderson cite when demonstrating to the reader the emotional progress she had made by her eleventh grade year?

7. What difference does Anderson observe between her experiences in ninth grade and her experiences in tenth grade?

8. What evidence does Anderson provide for her claim that physical activity helped her to gain courage?

9. What traumatic experience did Anderson's father undergo at age 18?

10. What is ironic about the experience that teaches Anderson that some words are too powerful to be expressed aloud?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Anderson's choice to tell the story of SHOUT using the form of a poetry memoir. What elements of the story’s themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Anderson’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Anderson’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of SHOUT.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Anderson’s use of Aristotle's appeals within the text of SHOUT. How does Anderson use ethos, pathos, and logos within her verse memoir in order to persuade the reader of key messages central to the tenets of the work?

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