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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. Why does Lutie visit Junto's?

2. What does Lutie fantasize about while standing outside the super's apartment?

3. Where is Boots' band scheduled to perform?

4. Which statement does the author use to describe the Chandlers' view of Lutie?

5. How does Mrs. Hedges respond to Min's attempt to leave her some money?

Short Essay Questions

1. Chapter 5 introduces the relationship between Mrs. Hedges and Min. How would you describe this relationship? Why does Min finds refuge in Mrs. Hedges?

2. Chapter 2 introduces Mrs. Pizzini as the character who provides a letter of reference for Lutie. Mrs. Pizzini shares some advice with Lutie about the effects of working while raising a family: "It's best that the man do the work when the babies are young. And when the man is young. Not good for the woman to work when she's young. Not good for the man." Why does Lutie originally brush Mrs. Pizzini off and then later recall the advice over and over again?

3. Chapter 4 more clearly depicts Jones' obsession with Lutie. In fact, "she made him more aware of his loneliness that ate into him day and night." How might Lutie's mere appearance open up such a void in Jones?

4. Chapter 1 outlines the dynamics of Lutie's household. Lutie's father's girlfriend, Lil, has Bub lighting her cigarettes and tasting her gin. How does Lil's behavior reflect and amplify Lutie's fears for her son?

5. In Lutie's dream, she is the one being asked to "unloose" the neighborhood people. Why has Lutie has been given this charge in the dream?

6. Describe what Junto's means to the different people in the neighborhood.

7. How did the white bartenders treat the patrons of Junto's? How did this treatment differ from the treatment they received in the workforce?

8. How does Min's relationship with Jones reflect the relationships in her past?

9. Who does Lutie hold responsible for the end of her marriage?

10. How does the stolen purse incident reflect the theme of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jones is not well received by the neighborhood. His strange behaviors intensify this rejection, yet Jones makes no efforts to alter his behaviors so that he might be deemed acceptable to his neighbors. What does this refusal reflect about Jones? What does his rejection reflect about the community? How is Jones' treatment similar to Lutie's treatment, in terms of the sexism and racism she experiences? Use ideas from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Lutie's grandmother is a significant character in The Street, despite the fact that she has passed before it's telling. How does Petry make the grandmother as concrete a character as the other living characters? What techniques do you notice that allow the reader to feel as though they "know" the grandmother? What purpose does the grandmother serve within the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The Street explores the dynamics of racism and sexism through main character Lutie Johnson. Lutie consistently expresses her frustration and hatred toward both systems of inequality. Toward the book's end, though, Lutie considers the idea that all of her troubles might not simply be manifestations of her race and gender. Maybe she is suffering so much because of poverty. Of these three debilitating systems--racism, sexism, and poverty--which, if any, do you think is most crippling for Lutie? Or do you believe they work together to cripple her? Provide examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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