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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 James have for breakfast?

2. What is the color of the school that James and his Mama pass while in the big city?

3. Why did James tell Ty he was hurting?

4. What color is Mama's hat and coat?

5. What sign did Monsieur Bayonne make over James' jaw?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the girl that is sitting across from James on the bus.

2. Who does James say he wants to be like when he grows up and what will he have?

3. What do Ty and James do with Monsieur Bayonne's two hounds?

4. Why does the preacher ask the young man to stand up?

5. Why does Monsieur Bayonne think that his prayers aren't working?

6. Where do Mama and James go to get warm and what does Mama do to make sure James has enough time to get warm?

7. What happens when James and Mama get back to the dentist's office?

8. What does James do first thing in the morning in Chapter 2?

9. Why does the lady at the dentist's office tell the Mama not to feel rejected?

10. How does James know that Bayonne is "a hundred times smaller than Baton Rouge"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the story, The Sky is Gray, we see examples of segregation where white people go one place and black people go to another place to have the same things done or to do the same things. Discuss the different ways that segregation is used in the story and how this affects the different characters in the book.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think the boy in the dentist's office meant by, "Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken."? Do you think the boy represented the majority of the youth at that time? Why or why not? Do you think the boy was glad that he felt that way about everything; that it should be questioned? Do you think he was right in how he felt? Do you think the preacher and woman in the office that spoke to the boy were more sensible? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the story, The Sky is Gray, James and his mother are almost always together. Describe Octavia and James' relationship. Would you consider their relationship to be a normal mother/son connection? Why or why not? How does James feel about his mother? How does Octavia feel about her son? Why doesn't Octavia express her love for James and do you think she really loves him?

(see the answer keys)

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