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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 James waiting for in Chapter 1?

2. What town does Mama and James go to?

3. What does the lady on the bus offer James?

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

5. How long has James been hurting?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mama suggest James kill the redbird with and what does she do when he doesn't want to kill the bird?

2. In Chapter 13, what does James think about to keep from getting cold?

3. Who finds out about James' toothache and what does this person do about it?

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

5. What does Mama do after James gets the bird on the leg with his fork?

6. What does James think about when he looks up at his Mama while they are waiting in the dentist's office?

7. What does the man in the cafe do?

8. What do Ty and James have for breakfast and what would Ty rather have?

9. What kind of solution is given to James to help with his toothache?

10. When the young man starts talking about questioning everything what does the preacher do?

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

The title of this story is The Sky is Gray. Why do you think Ernest J. Gaines used this title? There is a time in the book that James tells the reader that the sky is gray. Why do you think this was important? Why was it James that proclaimed the color of the sky? What kind of underlying meaning does this title bring to mind? Explain your answers and use specific examples from the story.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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