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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 happens to Maya's Japanese neighbors during the war?

2. Where does Vivian go when she leaves Maya and Momma in St. Louis?

3. Why is Maya afraid to go home to her mother's?

4. How do Momma and Willie see Momma's confrontation with the dentist?

5. What does Bailey do in response to his mother's dislike of his lifestyle?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how blacks avoid lying, according to Maya.

2. How does Maya feel about her pregnancy and what does she do?

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

4. How does Maya decide to see if she is a lesbian and what happens?

5. What happens to Maya when she starts school in San Francisco?

6. Describe the Lafayette Training School and its students.

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

8. How does Maya imagine her grandmother will handle the dentist?

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

10. What does Mr. Clidell teach Maya?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Maya learns hope and faith through her religious community but also learns fear and hate from living in a segregated and oppressive environment. How do you think the positive values of hope and faith can balance the fear and hate in Maya's life? Use examples from the book to illustrate your answer.

Essay Topic 2

If Maya Angelou were your grandmother what would you say to other students who asked you about her?

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 934 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample