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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. How long must the banns be published for a marriage?

2. In Chapter 18, what mountains did Gilbert see when he returned home from the war?

3. What were Gilbert and his shipmates focused on when they traveled to America?

4. What color gloves is Hortense wearing in Chapter 2?

5. What time were Gilbert and the other West Indian RAF volunteers wakened in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the Smith's move away?

2. What were Butchers' Association trips?

3. In Chapter 14, why were some Black GIs going to Nottingham instead of Lincoln to meet some girls?

4. What were the Ryders like who ran the school where Hortense worked in Chapter 3?

5. Who was the principal of the teacher-training college in Kingston?

6. How did Arthur Bligh die?

7. In Chapter 4, what news did Hortense receive of Michael Roberts?

8. Why was Hortense not able to get a job at the Church of England school in Kingston?

9. When Gilbert returned from the war, where were his siblings?

10. What did Gilbert and Hortense wear when they were married?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Idioms are words that have a figurative, rather than a literal meaning. How does the author use idioms in the book? Why are the idioms sometimes difficult to understand? Why do the idioms often require research to understand their meaning? Why are idioms especially difficult for Hortense to understand?

Essay Topic 2

Setting is the place and time where a novel takes place. What are the settings in Small Island? How do the settings evoke feelings or set the mood in the book?

Essay Topic 3

How and why is Queenie caught between socioeconomic groups or classes throughout her life?

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