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

2. What is distracting Jack from realizing his father's condition as the two work on a project together?

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

4. What is Jack's father planning to make with the items that were delivered?

5. Who does not cry as they wait to tell the others about Mother's death?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why is Tom tired of being a boy?

4. What was Jack doing and why does he run off at the end of Chapter 2?

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

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

7. What birthday request does Jack make that gets denied by his mother?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Name and define the five types of conflict. Which conflict prevailed in this novel? Select a different type of conflict and explain how the story would have differed under that particular type of conflict.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the exposition of The Cement Garden.

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