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 is the little boy's name that is waiting in the dentist office?

2. What color coat does the girl have on that is sitting across from James on the bus?

3. What kind of prayers does James claim he is saying?

4. What was going to make Mama "mad again"?

5. James had also eaten owl and what else?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mama do when James pushes one of the cakes towards her after stating that he "can't eat all this"?

2. What does James think about as he is walking to the cafe?

3. How does James describe the sleet that is falling?

4. When the preacher asks the young man about his parents, what does the young man tell the preacher?

5. What is James' response to Mama when she tells him they are going to town in the morning?

6. Why doesn't James mind that he and his Mama are walking all the way back to the cafe where black people eat?

7. Why does the young man hope that all young black men are not like him?

8. What does Mama do when James says he doesn't want to kill the second bird?

9. What kind of interaction do James and the girl have right before James gets off the bus?

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

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

In the story, The Sky is Gray, Mama takes James into a cafe to get warm and buy some food. After Mama and James get their food and start to eat, the man in the cafe asks Mama to dance. Mama ends up throwing the man against the wall. Why do you think Mama agreed to dance with the man when obviously she didn't want to? Why didn't Mama let James jump in to help her with the man? Why do you think Mama threw the man up against the wall? Why do you think the man asked Mama to dance in the first place?

Essay Topic 3

Ernest J. Gaines uses flashbacks in his short story, The Sky is Gray. How do these flashbacks strengthen the story? What connections do you feel with James after reading the flashbacks? Do you feel like you understand and know the characters better after you've read various flashbacks? Why or why not? Do you think that Gaines used flashbacks effectively in the story? Do you think there could have been more flashbacks in the story, or did Gaines use just the right amount? How would the story be different if the author did not use flashbacks? Explain your reasoning.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 899 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample