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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. Who is in Ford's oldest memory, as she recounts in Chapter 2?

2. In Chapter 6, what is a favorite game Ford plays with her mother?

3. What does Ford sense about her interactions with her grandfather?

4. What does Ford's mother become obsessed with in Chapter 9?

5. Who is Ford happiest to see when she returns home in Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ford remember Grandma Billie's appearance when she was a child?

2. How does Ford feel about going back to live with her mother after being on her great-grandfather's farm?

3. In Chapter 7, what happens that traumatizes Ford's mother?

4. How does Ford react to the news about her father in Chapter 1?

5. How does Ford remember the incident in Chapter 5 when her mother's boyfriend injures her accidentally?

6. What does Ford's mother do when she hears from Ford's teacher Mrs. York that Ford has said inappropriate things in school?

7. What kind of relationship does Ford have with her brother R.C. when they are children?

8. What does Ford overhear her mother saying about what she would do if someone hurt her kids?

9. How does Ford remember the process of having her hair relaxed in Chapter 5?

10. What does Ford's grandmother tell her about the snakes that fold tighter together as they burn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After her break-up with Brett, what are some of Ford's major emotional challenges through her college years and her young adult life afterwards? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

How does Ford's time at her great-grandfather's farmhouse in Missouri shape her relationship with her Grandma Billie and her own mother afterwards? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

At the end of the memoir, how does Ford describe the evolution of her relationship with her mother? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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