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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. Why is Mrs. Wendall placed in a nursing home?

2. Why does Bernard give Jules three hundred dollars?

3. To whom does Loretta go for help while Howard is gone?

4. Why is Loretta arrested?

5. How does the barn fire start?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Loretta react when Maureen tells her about Jim?

2. How does Jules feel about himself after the shooting?

3. Why hasn't Maureen been able to get a job?

4. What is the relationship between Samson Wendall and Jules?

5. What is happening to Maureen as she begins to come out of her catatonia?

6. What is Maureen's situation at the beginning of the third book?

7. How does Loretta feel about Howard's absence?

8. What does Jules learn about Bernard in Chapter 4 of the second book?

9. What happens when Loretta visits her father for the first time after her marriage?

10. What is Jules doing while Maureen is recovering?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Loretta doesn't understand why she has no connection with her children as adults. What do you think is the reason for the disconnect between them? Is there anything that Loretta could have done differently? Why does Loretta hypothesize that maybe she had the wrong children? Do you think she really believes this? Or is she simply trying to find a reason so she doesn't have to feel guilty? Do you think the disconnect is a result of Loretta's parenting, the family's situation, or a combination of the two? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

The poverty-stricken and violent lifestyle endured by Loretta, as a child, continues on to her own children. Why is the cycle perpetuated with her own children? Is there anything she could have done differently do break this cycle? What was Loretta's childhood like? How did the cycle begin? Do you think Maureen will be able to break this cycle with her own child(ren)? Why or why not? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

The author barely mentions Loretta's two youngest children, Betty and Ronnie. Why do you think they are such minor characters? Why does the author focus only on Loretta's two oldest children? Would you, as a reader, have liked to know more about the two younger children? Why or why not? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

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