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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. As Mother's illness worsens, who maintains the house?

2. Who gives a card with two pound notes as a birthday present?

3. Who do we learn is infatuated with Julie in Chapter 2?

4. Who develops a special relationship with Mother as she gets sicker?

5. Who is obsessed with the garden?

Short Essay Questions

1. What discussion does Mother have with Jack when she calls him to her bedside?

2. What, specifically, do Jack and Julie do to provide Mother with an eternal resting place?

3. What does Julie tell Jack she imagines will happen between Father and Tom as Father's health declines?

4. Discuss the dialog between Julie and Jack when Julie tells him that Mother has died.

5. What do Julie and Jack do with sand and how long does it take?

6. What does the family do to celebrate Jack's birthday?

7. Who is present during Father's final heart attack and why is it initially unnoticed?

8. What does Jack notice about his mother when he sees her from a distance in Chapter 2?

9. When the children are in the garden discussing what to now that Mother has died, what specifically do they discuss?

10. What do Jack's parents argue about in Chapter 1? What does his mother demand and what is his father's reaction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the characters Jack and Julie and their growth throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 2

What are static and dynamic characters? Name the static and dynamic characters in this novel and discuss what about each makes them either static or dynamic.

Essay Topic 3

Define motif. Identify and discuss two motifs from The Cement Garden.

(see the answer keys)

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