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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. Who writes down all the things that need to be fixed on the boat on a clipboard?

2. What does Sophie say when Cody asks what happened to her parents?

3. How does Sophie combat her uncles' objections to her going on the trip?

4. What dreamer-like thing does Sophie's father often do?

5. Who is Sophie going to visit on the other side of the ocean?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Brian act when he walks on the beach with Cody and Sophie?

2. What chore will Sophie have to take a turn at that she's not looking forward to?

3. How did Uncle Dock get his nickname?

4. Describe Uncle Mo.

5. Describe the baptism Sophie attends.

6. What story does Sophie tell Cody about a little kid she knows?

7. What does Sophie's mother do?

8. Why does Uncle Mo worry while Cody and Sophie are away visiting Wood Island?

9. What does Sophie think of the Ohio River?

10. What happens to the car in Sophie's story about Bompie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During the journey, the characters learn about each other. Discuss learning about other people in the novel.

1) How does Sophie learn about her uncles and cousins during the journey? What affect does this have on their relationships?

2) How does Cody learn about Sophie during the journey? How does Cody respond to his cousin and to learning about her?

3) How do Cody and Mo learn about each other during the journey? How does this affect their relationship as father and son?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss men and women's roles in the novel.

1) Why does Sophie get angry when she is cast in a traditional women's role? Why does she want to do tasks that are traditionally male?

2) How does Cody react to implications that his tasks of cooking and cleaning are traditionally women's tasks? Why does he respond this way?

3) What is the author saying about traditional roles of men and women in society?

Essay Topic 3

The novel centers around memory and remembering. Discuss these elements in the novel.

1) How is Bompie's failing memory during his illness important to the story? Why does Sophie want to keep Bompie's memory alive through his stories?

2) How is memory unreliable in the novel? How are Sophie and Bompie's memories both unreliable in different ways?

3) How does memory drive the characters? How do Sophie's repressed memories drive her? How do Dock's memories of Rosalie drive him?

(see the answer keys)

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