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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 Willa's family live prior to inheriting the house?

2. What year is noted in the letter from Charles Darwin to Mrs. Treat in Chapter 4?

3. Whose barouche ran away and crashed, according to Polly in Chapter 2?

4. Where does Willa say she and her husband are going to meet their grandchild in Chapter 1?

5. What is Dusty's bedroom painted to look like?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Willa go to the Historical Society in Chapter 7?

2. How would you describe the relationship between Tig and Zeke?

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

4. What has brought Thatcher and his family to Vineland?

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

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

7. What is revealed in the conversation between Willa and Iano in the evening after Gwen's visit in Chapter 9?

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

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

10. When and where is Willa's story set primarily? How is this established?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Zeke and Tig in Unsheltered. How old are these characters and what is their age difference? How were they different growing up? How are they different now? To which character do you most relate? Why?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the symbolism of the house on Plum Street in Unsheltered. What does the house represent to Willa and her family? What does it represent to Thatcher, Rose, Polly, and Aurelia? How has the house changed in the century between these narratives?

(see the answer keys)

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