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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 Bertha work when she graduated from college?

2. What color was Sonja's hair?

3. How old was Alex when she first met a dragon?

4. How many husbands were swallowed during the Mass Dragoning?

5. How old was a teenage boy who accompanied the Girl Guides on a scouting expedition into the Everglades?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Alex sought out her aunt Marla's former co-workers, what did they tell her about the day her aunt disappeared?

2. What was reported about Marya Tilman's dragoning?

3. What happened at a Los Angeles bar in 1959?

4. Why did Bertha start sleeping in Alex and Beatrice's room?

5. How did a priest stop young women from turning into dragons?

6. What is known about the Mass Dragoning?

7. Where did Alex and Beatrice live after their mother died and why?

8. Who was Sonja Blomgren?

9. How did Bertha die?

10. What was Alex's punishment after Sonja was sent away?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mood is an element that authors use to evoke feelings in readers through the use of descriptive language. Mood is the overall feeling that readers have when reading a story. What is the overall mood of When Women Were Dragons?

Essay Topic 2

In When Women Were Dragons, some characters are more thoroughly described than others. Who are some characters that are merely named in passing or have a minor role in the novel? What is the importance of these flat characters to the story line? In what way do these characters make the main characters more colorful or interesting? When there is conflict, what type of role do these flat characters play?

Essay Topic 3

Verisimilitude is a literary device that helps to ensure that fantasy elements in a story are rooted and plausible. How does Barnhill ensure that dragons and dragoning seem realistic and believable in When Women Were Dragons?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 875 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample