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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. What does Horace begin to have second thoughts about having used in his spell at the end of the section titled White Sorcery?

2. Who was Horace's best friend since kindergarten?

3. How does Jimmy's brother feel about his wife?

4. What is the name of Horace's elementary school?

5. What was one of the women's jobs during a hog killing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a main driving force in Horace's grandfather Zeke's life?

2. What kind of animal does Horace decide to turn himself into and why?

3. What is Zeke's relationship with his sister-in-law Ruth like?

4. What particular part of Horace's spell to transform himself into an animal does he struggle with morally?

5. Why does Reverend Greene's wife, Anne, say she wants to stay in the South?

6. How did Retha's death affect Horace?

7. How does Zeke remember his life with his wife, Retha (short for Aretha)?

8. What was a hog killing day like in Tims Creek?

9. What significant historical event did Zeke's grandfather, Ezra, live through?

10. How does Horace first become aware of what he feels is another presence after he performs his spell?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Kenan's graphic description of the hog killings in the section titled December 8, 1985, and the rituals and traditions that surround them, set the tone for the rest of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

In the section titled Old Demonology, what does Horace's family's reaction to his ear piercing at Thanksgiving dinner reveal about the older generation's misgivings about white people? Why is Horace's family so upset that he is friends with a group of white boys his own age from school? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay comparing and contrasting how Horace's generation and his grandfather Zeke's generation experienced racism and violence in their hometown of Tim's Creek.

(see the answer keys)

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