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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. Why does Beth come home to England in September of 2006?

2. What is Beth unpleasantly surprised by at Meg's house in September of 2006?

3. Where does Colin decide to stay while he is in England helping Meg clear out Bird House?

4. What important item does Rory find in Lorelei's room in Chapter 15?

5. Where is Colin on Easter of 2005, when he emails all three of his children?

Short Essay Questions

1. What caused Meg to kick Bill out in 2003, and what was the result?

2. How does dramatic irony create a bittersweet mood when Lorelei announces her success in staying at Maddy's house?

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

4. In her Chapter 8 email to Jim, what claim does Lorelei make about the cleanliness of her home, and how is this contradicted by evidence elsewhere in the text?

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

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

7. How does Colin's conversation with Beth alter the reader's understanding of his conversation with Rory about Kayleigh and Tia?

8. In Chapter 12, what details of Beth's life in Australia following Vicky's funeral are finally filled in?

9. During Beth's September, 2006 visit to England, what contrast is there between her attitude toward the affair and Bill's?

10. What evidence does Kayleigh cite when she calls Beth and Meg "heartless bitches" (305)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of the thematic motif of birds in The House We Grew Up In? How does Jewell use the family name, Lorelei's devotion to the Easter egg hunt and collecting the egg foils, and other references to birds to convey ideas about home and family? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about the symbolic significance of birds and things related to birds in this text. Support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

After Beth witnesses the scene between her mother and her father and Vicky in Chapter 7, she goes upstairs to her own room. What is it that so disturbs her about the appearance of her room? What does it imply about her? How does juxtaposing her dawning realizations about her own room and herself with the scene between her parents and Vicky create a sense of urgency and help the reader understand Beth's decision to try again with Jason? Write an essay in which you analyze how the details in and structure of this section of Chapter 7 allows the reader to more fully understand Beth's panic and her choice to attempt a relationship with Jason.

Essay Topic 3

Consider all of Lorelei's emails as a single body of text. How do they demonstrate her growth? How does knowing that Lorelei is capable of change impact the reader's feelings about how her story ends? How does it affect the reader's feelings about other characters in the story? Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the impact that seeing Lorelei's growth has on the reader, connecting this to the book's larger ideas about family and character. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text.

(see the answer keys)

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