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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. How does Helene die?

2. What was Iano's mother's name?

3. What literary device is found in the following sentence from Chapter 8? "The boots' brown tongues lolled, a pair of panting dogs" (183).

4. What color is Gwen's hair described as in Chapter 9?

5. What author wrote about wax myrtle, having made a tallow as an experiment, according to Mary in Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Tig and why is she living in Willa's home?

2. How is the setting of Batsto described in Chapter 8?

3. How would you compare and contrast the characters or Rose and Mary in the novel?

4. How would you describe Willa's relationship with Iano in the beginning of the novel?

5. How did Willa obtain the house her family has moved into? How is the house described?

6. How do Thatcher and Rose's childhoods and upbringing differ?

7. What struggles does Willa face with her work in Chapter 3?

8. When and where is Thatcher's story primarily set? How is this established?

9. What is Willa's profession and how has it recently changed at the opening of the novel?

10. What is Mary Treat doing when Thatcher comes to her home in Chapter 4? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Willa's relationship with her daughter Tig evolves throughout the novel. How would you describe their relationship in the beginning? How does this relationship change? What leads to the changes in the relationship? Do you think that their relationship grows stronger or more distant? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the symbolism of the trees in the novel. In addition to the two trees in the yard at the house on Plum Street, what others appear? What do you think the trees represent? With what type of tree does Thatcher associate Mary? Why is this significant?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Nick in Unsheltered. How does Nick stand apart from his family in the contemporary timeline? What is the extent of Nick's health problems? How does Nick's character evolve in the course of the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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