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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. Besides clothing, what other item is brought to the Mills' house in order to help Stella with her writing?

2. Mama tells Stella that elderberry is good for curing what ill?

3. In what language does the name of the protagonist in the flying story mean "born to royalty" (220)?

4. Who punches Tony in the stomach when Tony stands up for Stella?

5. Who demands to be given a receipt for the men's voting registration fee?

Short Essay Questions

1. About what topic is the poem Papa recites for Stella?

2. How is irony present within the scene at the voter registration office?

3. How do the themes of oppression and brutality appear within the scene outside the general store?

4. The narrator states that Stella had been taught what lesson from a "very young" (245) age?

5. What reason does Papa give Stella for his decision to try to register to vote?

6. Who goes to the sheriff's office in order to lend support to the voters?

7. Whose pieces of writing does Mrs. Grayson choose to enter into the contest and what is each piece about?

8. What is the significance of Papa's mention of a "standing stone" (124)?

9. Who goes to the sheriff's office in Bumblebee in order to vote?

10. How does Stella characterize the type of writing she enjoys creating?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the function of Paulette's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Draper in depicting Paulette and include in your discussion the reasons that Draper portrays Paulette in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Draper’s inclusion of the dream motif within Stella by Starlight. With which of the novel’s major themes does the dream motif dovetail?

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at the passages of Stella by Starlight that describe the close relationship between Stella’s sense of hope and her goal of becoming a journalist. What is Draper’s purpose for portraying the nature of this connection?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 856 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample