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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 Momma always do for her children before leaving for work?
2. Who is Vic Watts?
3. How is Shirley?
4. How does Yolanda's mother's pestering figure into Yolanda getting to do something she likes to do?
5. How old is Andrew?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why is the darker side of Asphalt Hill, and what are Andrews thoughts about that?
2. What does Yolanda "borrow" of her mother's, and what is she thinking about as she does so?
3. How does Yolanda feel in Michigan and why?
4. Who does Andrew meet when he arrives for his reading lesson?
5. What does Shirley say about double-dutch that causes Yolanda great discomfort?
6. Why does Momma decide to move from Chicago?
7. Why does Andrew go to Asphalt Hill?
8. What does Yolanda yell to Shirley as Yolanda is running out of the house?
9. What are the skaters at Asphalt Hill's reactions to Andrew's harmonica playing?
10. Where has Yolanda chosen to sit in her classroom and why?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
1. What is foreshadowing? How many incidences of foreshadow are in "Yolonda's Genius"? How does foreshadowing contribute to a book's suspense?
2. Discuss an example of foreshadowing in this story, including why you believe it is foreshadowing. Include examples from the book and your own life to illustrate your answer.
3. How do you think most people react to uncertainty in their lives? Use examples from "Yolonda's Genius" and your own live to support your opinion.
Essay Topic 2
Over the course of "Yolonda's Genius", Yolanda grows as a person in both complexity and understanding. "Yolonda's Genius" might be considered a slice of Yolanda's larger story of her "coming of age." It might be said that the story is a "bildungsroman" of the narrator. Discuss the following:
1. Define Bildungsroman, or "Coming of Age," and give several examples from literature you have read.
2. Trace and analyze Yolanda as she changes from a somewhat rigid, bigoted girl to a wiser, less rigid girl. What are the significant events that change her?
3. After thoroughly analyzing the narrator's growth throughout "Yolonda's Genius", do you think the novel could be considered Yolanda's Coming of Age story? Why or why not?
4. Are there any other characters in "Yolonda's Genius" who go through a Coming of Age experience? Who? Why do you think so?
Essay Topic 3
Characters are an important part of what makes "Yolonda's Genius" interesting. Discuss the following:
1. Thoroughly discuss and analyze Yolanda. What are her strengths? Her weaknesses? How does she contribute to the plot? Is she a sympathetic character? Is she always likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.
2. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Andrew. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.
3. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Shirley Piper. What are her strengths? Her weaknesses? How does she contribute to the plot? Is she a sympathetic character? Is she ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.
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This section contains 959 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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