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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. For what purpose do Jeannette and Brian start digging a large hole in the backyard?

2. After Jeannette gets a divorce, what type of life does she choose to live?

3. What happens that saves Jeannette from having to drop out of school because of financial problems?

4. Who is Ginnie Sue?

5. What is the condition of the Wells' house like when spring comes in Part 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Jeannette so interested in going to Ginnie Sue's house? What is her visit like?

2. What are some of the reasons that the children do not like going to school in Welch?

3. What has the author found with her second husband that she did not have with her first?

4. Why does the owner of the paper that Jeannette works for talk her out of taking a job at his newspaper?

5. What happens when Jeannette makes an attempt to fix up her family's ramshackle home in West Virginia?

6. How does Rose Mary view her and Rex's living situation in New York? How do the other members of the family see things differently?

7. What incident leads Jeannette to finally making a friend in West Virginia?

8. Why does Rose Mary quit her job, and what is Jeannette's reaction?

9. When Erma dies, how does the Walls family react? How is Rex's reaction different from the rest of the family?

10. What events help form Jeannette's desire to be a professional writer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rex's alcoholism is a major theme in the memoir. Although he occasionally is able to stop drinking for a short time, inevitably he returns to it. What personality traits and aspects of his background seem to contribute to his tendency toward alcoholism?

Essay Topic 2

Jeannette's relationship with her mother is conflicted, yet she still feels a fondness and compassion for her as an adult. Discuss the relationship between these two women by answering the following questions:

1) How would you characterize the relationship between the two?

2) How does each of these women play both an adult and a child's role?

3) How does the relationship between them change over time?

Essay Topic 3

In many ways, the author looks up to her father even as he makes poor decisions that affect the family negatively.

1) Discuss the author's conflicting view of her father as protector/provider and an alcoholic.

2) How does the author want the world to see or understand her father? What does she tell other people about him?

3) Do you think that she idealizes her father or that she is simply being fair in looking at the whole person, rather than the poor decisions that he makes?

Use specific examples from the book to illustrate your points.

(see the answer keys)

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