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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 her email to Jim in Chapter 12, what comparison between her own situation and Colin's does Lorelei make?

2. Why is Meg pleased that Bill decides not to come to Vicky's funeral?

3. In Chapter 9, what does Vicky's comparison of her cancer's progress to a "whistle-stop sightseeing tour" indicate? (252)

4. What is Vicky's final gift to Meg?

5. On page 247, whom does Lorelei refer to as "an utter bitch"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 9, what Easter gift does Beth's boyfriend give her, and why does she feel the way she does about this gift?

2. What obstacle prevents Lorelei and Jim from spending time together in person, and how does Jim propose they deal with this issue?

3. What assurance does Lorelei offer Jim about their relationship and his drinking, and how does this relate to her own struggles with hoarding?

4. What evidence is there at Vicky's funeral and wake that Meg's attitude about Colin and Kayleigh is changing?

5. What does Lorelei's Chapter 16 email to Jim reveal happened between her and Rhys on the night before Rhys's death?

6. What is Lorelei's explanation to Jim regarding why she is always hungry?

7. When Beth receives Meg's text about Lorelei's computer password, why is she so relieved and happy?

8. What cruel irony does Meg see in what she was doing herself at the time of Lorelei's death?

9. What does Lorelei tell Jim about the trauma in her own childhood?

10. How does Lorelei characterize Rory in her email to Jim?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the function of the incest motif in The House We Grew Up In? How does it impact the reader's understanding of the characters and their struggles in life? How does it convey messages about healthy and unhealthy family relationships? Write an essay in which you describe how this motif is developed in the lives of the various family members, analyze the nature of this alleged "incest," and then advance a theory about what purpose Jewell intends the motif to serve. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from diction, details, narrative perspective, and plot.

Essay Topic 2

In what ways is Beth's thinking like her mother's? In what ways does it differ? Do you imagine that Lorelei encouraged her children to develop effective adult thinking skills? Are Beth and Lorelei more alike or more different, emotionally? Write an essay that considers the relationship between having Lorelei Bird as a mother and Beth's delayed intellectual and emotional maturation. Make a clear claim about how Lorelei's parenting affected Beth's maturity, and support your claim with evidence drawn from throughout the text. Be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

How does Jewell create a more complex and nuanced narrative by shifting the narrative perspective? Write an essay in which you describe the dominant narrative perspective and how Jewell introduces other perspectives through Lorelei's emails and passages told from new perspectives. Make and defend a claim about the purpose of this perspective shifting. Support your ideas with evidence drawn from throughout the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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