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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. How does the novel gloss the term “johnnies”?

2. For what instrument did Antes write?

3. What is the first question Miggy answers in the truthsaying session Paper attends?

4. From whom does Gus borrow money?

5. How many people are lodged in the *ward* where Dodo is held?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Dodo assign Monkey Pants his sobriquet?

2. What is the tension surrounding the Afro-Cubans, and how is it resolved?

3. How does Pia gather gossip to pass along to her friends?

4. Why does Fatty absent himself from Chona’s funeral?

5. How does Moshe pack the pants he returns to Malachi?

6. How does Dodo’s deafness help him communicate with Monkey Pants?

7. Why does Gus dislike Doc?

8. Why did Moshe book the Afro-Cubans at his theatre?

9. What leads Fatty to be wary of Nate’s anger?

10. Why is Fatty worried about Big Soap’s mother arriving in anger at his establishment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sources attest to the presence of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store on best-seller lists. Assuming that sales figures reflect popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the novel? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

To what genre other than historical fiction might The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store be considered to belong? What in the text supports that identification? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

McBride depicts Doc Roberts falling into line with a local hate group. What lesson might be taken away from the depiction? What in the text supports that lesson, and how does it do so?

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This section contains 571 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample