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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. Where did Sandy go to college?

2. How did Sandy say he could ask Mavis' father for permission to marry?

3. What was Mavis' maiden name?

4. What did Wilbur Cox do for a living?

5. After John's death, what did Sandy and Leona disagree about?

Short Essay Questions

1. In spite of his objections, what did Sandy do for his mother when she decided to remarry?

2. What activities were Sandy, Mavis, Edith, and Lyman said to often do together?

3. What did Leona announce in 1952?

4. What 'joke' did Twyla tell Clevis and Sandy one night after a party?

5. What worried Sandy about Mavis' first pregnancy?

6. What did Mavis say about Edith and Lyman while on the Ferris Wheel?

7. What story does Sandy tell about the Wellrights?

8. What did Sandy fear would happen if Mavis held her baby?

9. After John's death, what did Sandy and Leona argue about?

10. How did Edith and Sandy feel about Lyman's return in 1961?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the relationship between Edith and her father, Roy; what conflicts did they face in their relationship? How did Roy treat Edith and how did she react to his behavior towards her?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the motif of escape that is found throughout the novel "The Tie That Binds." Why did the protagonist wish to escape, and from what? Why did she feel that she was unable to do so? What was Lyman escaping from when he left the farm? Why did he end up returning to the farm?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the narrator of the novel, Sandy. What are his defining character traits? Is he a reliable narrator? Why or why not?

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