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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. When Spoon Man climbs down from his "wooden buckboard" (71), what does he toss to both Jojo and Stella?

2. The animal Jojo mistakenly believes to be headless has what color head?

3. What beverage does Mama offer to Spoon Man on the morning of his departure?

4. How many dollars does Dr. Packard give to Paulette outside of Cathy's Candy Store?

5. Stella tells her mother that she would love to go to what location in Spindale?

Short Essay Questions

1. What aspect of the Klan's reemergence most alarms Papa and why?

2. How does the cross outside of New Hope Church echo the novel's depiction of beauty within imperfection?

3. What object inside the Mills' home symbolizes the family's unity and love?

4. What aspect of transformation does Stella observe and write about within her "Trees" essay?

5. What is unique about the Spencer family?

6. Provide a description of Mama's temperament.

7. Discuss how the theme of courage is depicted within the first ten chapters of the novel.

8. Why are Jojo and Stella outside in the middle of the night in the novel's opening scene?

9. What plan does Pastor Patton tell the congregation he will undertake the following morning?

10. What is Stella's real name and for what reason does Stella adore her nickname?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the reasons why Draper uses a third person omniscient narrator. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Draper’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Draper’s novel Stella by Starlight. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of Stella by Starlight and analyze Draper’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

(see the answer keys)

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