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

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

3. What is Mama always doing to Ty?

4. One man tells another man in the dentist office that he thought he was hollering like what?

5. What did Mama do when James told her he couldn't kill the bird?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the scene where James is waiting.

4. Why doesn't James look at the little girl while they are riding on the bus?

5. What choice does Mama give James in Chapter 10?

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

7. What does James hear as he is walking to the cafe?

8. What happens between the woman on the bus sitting beside Mama and James?

9. Why does James think the little old lady must be crazy?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 7 of The Sky is Gray, there is a conversation between the preacher and a boy in the waiting room. They get into a heated argument and the preacher ends up hitting the boy. Why did the preacher feel it was necessary to take physical action with the boy? Do you think the patrons of the dentist's office cared that the preacher had hit the boy? Why or why not? Do you think hitting the boy helped the preacher find favor with the other people waiting? Did the preacher feel he was right in hitting the boy? Does the preacher think that God finds favor in what he did to the boy? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In the story, The Sky is Gray, James and his family are obviously poor. There are many things that James has never had or never will have in his lifetime. What things do you think James, Mama and the rest of the family have to work for that some people in the story (mainly white people) don't think twice about? What examples do you read about in the story to help you come to the conclusion that James' family is poor? How does this help you connect with James and with Mama? Use specific examples from the story.

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?

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