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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. In which specific extracurricular activity does Julie excel?

2. Which child is not told upon arriving home from school that Mother is dead?

3. What is Julie afraid of after Mother's death?

4. Where do Jack and Julie put Mother's body?

5. Which character hangs out with bad girls?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Tom get picked on at school?

2. Why does the whole family attack Father verbally over a decision he made regarding Julie's extracurricular activities?

3. How does Jack release tension in the garden at the beginning of Chapter 4? Why does he stop?

4. Where does the family celebrate Jack's birthday and why?

5. What happens to the garden after Father's first heart attack?

6. How do the siblings tell Tom that Mother has died?

7. Why, in Chapter 2, does Jack begin to avoid Mother?

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

9. What happens when Julie covers Mother's body with a sheet?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are four points of view in which literature is written: first person, third person objective, third person limited, and omniscient. Which point of view does the author use in this book? Is this the most effective point of view for this story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the two oldest siblings and the two youngest ones.

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