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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 does Marlee steal that Red has left on a bench in Chapter 47?

2. What does Marlee tell Mr. Harding about working on math in the new year in Chapter 33?

3. How does Betty Jean's and Marlee's relationship change after Marlee goes out of her way to help Betty Jean's son Curtis?

4. Who is the first person Marlee sees at the zoo in Chapter 47 whom she recognizes?

5. What does Sally tell Marlee she actually did with her hairbrush after Liz used it?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Marlee's expectation of the plane ride her father gives the family compare with her actual experience of the journey?

2. What did Marlee hope would come of her writing down a Bible verse and putting it in her mother's purse?

3. What did Betty Jean tell Marlee about what the NAACP had advised Negroes about sending their children to private segregated schools?

4. What do the WEC leaders tell Marlee about how they deal with the threatening letters they receive about their political work?

5. What idea does Marlee come up with to help Liz be quiet in tense situations?

6. What is the reason Marlee's father gives when she asks him why he helped Curtis get out of jail?

7. What does Liz ask Marlee to do in exchange for Liz catching crawdads with Marlee?

8. What big news does Judy tell Marlee over Thanksgiving break and what does Marlee think about it?

9. How does JT react when Marlee finally tells him she will no longer do his math homework for him?

10. What problems does Liz tell Marlee she experiences once she has to attend the Negro school in her neighborhood?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

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