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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. When did George have the grocer deliver food to Alex and Beatrice?

2. How many dragonings did Henry Gantz witness that were planned in advance?

3. When were Alex and Beatrice summoned to the principal's office at Beatrice's school in Chapter 20?

4. What was the name of the other dragon on the street when Marla showed up at Alex's apartment for the first time?

5. In Chapter 22, to whom did Alex make Beatrice write an apology letter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What would Beatrice do when Alex spent long hours at the library nearly daily?

2. What were students to do during an air raid drill?

3. What did Alex remember about the two years after her mother died?

4. What did Alex do with her mother's things that she brought home from her old house?

5. Why was it advantageous for Alex to have Marla hanging around?

6. How did dragons help an older farm couple in Kansas?

7. What dragonings occurred when Dr. Gantz was studying a group of Women Airforce Service Pilots?

8. What did Alex's father tell her in a letter about her future after high school?

9. Why did Beatrice get in trouble in Chapter 20 and have to have a visit with the principal?

10. Who testified on April 15, 1947 before a subcommittee of a subcommittee of the House Un-America Activities Committee, and what happened to them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

An allusion is a figure of speech that does not directly refer to a person, place, or thing. What are some allusions in When Women Were Dragons? Why might it be difficult to decipher an allusion just by the context of a passage in a book? How do the allusions Barnhill uses help readers’ understanding of characters or concepts?

Essay Topic 2

In media res is the technique of beginning a story with a pivotal point or a situation that is the end to a series of events. Where does Branhill begin the story? How does she plunge into the situation with the dragons? How does beginning the story in the middle of the action affect the plot and affect readers?

Essay Topic 3

Barnhill reveals Alex’s life during pivotal times. How do the events in When Women Were Dragons help Alex mature and grow in the novel?

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