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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 Maya react to her fight with Dolores?

2. What do the boys in the gang do for money?

3. What does Dolores tell Maya's father about marriage?

4. What does Maya's new stepfather do for work?

5. What is the "tripartite crossfire" that assaults young black girls?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Maya decides she wants to work on the street car?

2. Describe the Lafayette Training School and its students.

3. Describe Maya's perceptions and experience in her first year at George Washington High School.

4. Describe Maya's reaction to Edward Donleavy's speech about blacks.

5. What does Maya do when she leaves her father's friend's house?

6. What does Maya's father do for a living and how does he obtain what is necessary for the job?

7. How does Maya feel about San Francisco as a community?

8. What happens when Momma and Maya arrive in St. Louis?

9. Describe the living arrangements for Maya and her family after her mother marries Mr. Clidell .

10. Why does Maya think she might be a lesbian and what does she think a lesbian is?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Maya's grandmother told Willie about her trip to the white dentist they both felt she had won the encounter. What do you think and why?

Essay Topic 2

Do you think Maya had to grow up too fast? Why? Use examples from the book to illustrate your opinion.

Essay Topic 3

Many of our beliefs tend to form early, often they are false because as young people we sometimes don't have the information we need to filter out false thinking. Maya had many beliefs as a child that were false. What were three of these beliefs, in your opinion and why do you think they were false?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 949 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample