View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is flying around the porch in the first chapter?

2. What river is referred to at the beginning of the book?

3. Where are the Robertsons rumored to build the latest addition to their business?

4. What poetry does the elder Abigail enjoy reading out loud before she leaves for college?

5. How many people are among the "parade of figures" that Abigail sees in her mind?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator say in the first section that indicates that she might be lonely?

2. Describe the still that William eventually finds.

3. Describe Abigail, William's daughter, as a child.

4. How is the content of "The Keepers of the House" organized?

5. In the first Book of Abigail, what does Abigail remember of being a child in this house?

6. What caused the "ugly smears" in the sky in October in the first section?

7. What is Abigail's reasoning for watering the geraniums so late in the season?

8. In addition to the month being stated, what other clues about the season is the reader given in the first paragraph?

9. How does William live his life after the death of his wife and son?

10. Describe the Howland tomb and its eventual use.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Abigail's relationship with her husband from her perspective. Be certain to discuss how her opinion of him changes.

Essay Topic 2

At the end of the first section, Abigail admits that if she were to be honest, she would wish that Robert weren't alive. Discuss this statement. Does this make Abigail evil?

Essay Topic 3

Identify five examples of racial tension in "The Keepers of the House," and analyze them.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 691 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample