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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. What is Marlee's family so pleased about that happened on Marlee's first day of school?

2. Who does Marlee meet at the Negro cinema who vouches for her?

3. What does Liz tell Marlee about Liz's own mother?

4. Who do Marlee and Liz catch throwing eggs at Mrs. Jefferson's house on Halloween?

5. What does Mrs. McDaniels do when she meets Liz for the first time?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Liz give Marlee her phone number so only Marlee will know what it is?

2. When Governor Faubus orders the schools in Little Rock to close, how do Marlee's parents react to the news?

3. How does Marlee's father react when Marlee's mother tells him she has accepted a position to teach at a private school?

4. Why does Marlee choose to remain friends with Sally, even though Sally sometimes makes fun of her and mistreats her?

5. What does Ms. Taylor tell Marlee about the reason that Liz is not at school on the day they are supposed to present their history project?

6. How does Marlee decide to try to get a message to Liz after Liz can not come back to school?

7. Why do Marlee's parents tell Judy and Marlee that Judy has to move to their grandmother's house in Pine Bluff?

8. What does Marlee's father tell her about his reasons for driving her to school every day?

9. What does Marlee do to cope with her anxiety when she is expected to speak to new people?

10. What does Marlee discover her new math teacher, Mr. Harding, does differently than her previous math teacher on her first day of school?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, adults in Marlee's life who have first-hand knowledge of terrible racially motivated violence like lynchings and murders debate whether Marlee is old enough to hear their stories. Write an essay analyzing the effect these stories, when told to Marlee by her father and the members of the WEC, have on Marlee and on her decision to become a political activist.

Essay Topic 2

Marlee has close relationships to both of her siblings, her sister Judy and her brother David. By the end of the novel, which one of them do you think she has more in common with? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Marlee's father Richard is committed to actively supporting school integration. Write an essay exploring the origins of Marlee's father's pro-integration ideas. Does his position on racial equality and issues surrounding racism change much during the course of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 842 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample