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. Where does Daughter go in the morning after her date with Tony while he watches her mother in “When Eddie Levert Comes”?

2. What is the title of the final section in “Instructions for Married Christian Husbands”?

3. How does Lyra apologize to Eric for not calling him for awhile in "How to Make Love to A Physicist"?

4. What does Lyra decide at 2 a.m. when she considers inviting Eric up to her hotel room, in "How to Make Love to A Physicist"?

5. What does Granny say she must have tripped over when she fell during an argument with Jael about her getting a job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the narrator's instructions in “Instructions for Married Christian Husbands” under the “Social media and technology” section?

2. What does Granny say about the teasing Jael experienced at school particularly from Twan who always called her jailbird?

3. What happens when Jael’s Granny tells Jael she needs to get a job?

4. Describe Daughter’s date with Tony in “When Eddie Levert Comes.”

5. What does Daughter say to her mother while washing her hair at the end of “When Eddie Levert Comes”?

6. What is Jael‘s grandmother‘s reaction to the first journal entry she reads in the short story “Jael”?

7. What is one of the reasons Daughter suspects her mother may feel a bond with Eddie Levert?

8. What does Daughter say to her brother Rico the first time he complains about his mother talking about Eddie Levert?

9. How does Kachelle react when Jael asked her if she had ever thought about doing “things with girls” (124)?

10. What does Eric tell Lyra he is going to need her to do if they are going to try to make it work when he calls her after he receives the sketch she sent him as an apology in “How to Make Love to a Physicist”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Philyaw’s choice to write “How to Make Love to a Physicist” using second person point of view. What reason might the author have to write in this point of view? What effect does this have on the reader? And how does using second person point of view develop the theme of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay describing the author’s narrative tone and writing style in two of the stories from The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Compare and contrast the author’s tone and writing style in each story. Use examples from the text as evidence for your argument.

Essay Topic 3

In “Not-Daniel” and in “Instructions for Married Christian Husbands,” the narrators remain unnamed throughout the stories. Write an essay exploring the reason why Philyaw may have chosen to leave out the name of this these characters.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 923 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample