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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 Queenie wear when she goes to the Empire Exhibition?

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

3. Why did Mr. Todd think colored people were coming to England?

4. In Chapter 8, what did Hortense say about the age of the woman she stayed with on the night before she left for England?

5. How old was Gilbert when he learned to drive?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the worst hardship Gilbert had to put up with when he went into the RAF?

2. Who raised Hortense and why?

3. What analogy did Gilbert use to explain why he joined the RAF?

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

5. How did Arthur Bligh die?

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

7. What did Hortense do when she left her government upper school?

8. Why did Gilbert struggle to find a place to leave when he returned to England, and how did he finally find a place?

9. What were Butchers' Association trips?

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

Imagery is a literary device authors use to describe people in a narrative and the world they inhabit. Imagery involves using the five senses to describe individuals, places, and things. How does Levy use imagery to help readers imagine the world where individuals live in Small Island?

Essay Topic 2

Gilbert experiences racism in England. How and why do Gilbert and other Jamaicans experience racism in England?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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