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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 Zorrie tell Noah right after Virgil dies?

2. Who tells Zorrie about a nearby blueberry farm?

3. Who dies from Zorrie's past in Part III?

4. What does Zorrie invest in for her farm in the fifties?

5. Who is Lester's wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens between Oats and Virgil in Part III?

2. What is one splurge that Zorrie makes on herself after her trip to Ottawa?

3. What is one reason that Zorrie realizes she might not have been interested in her suitor in Part III?

4. What does Ruby say to Zorrie about her visit to Opal in Part IV?

5. How does Noah react to his father Virgil's death?

6. In Part IV, who does Hank ask to keep an eye on Noah, and why does he ask this?

7. What horrifies all the women who used to work at the radium factory in Part III?

8. What does Zorrie bring Opal when she goes to see her, and how does Opal react?

9. What does Zorrie do regularly that Ruby and Noah think helps Virgil?

10. What does Zorrie start doing for Noah regularly in Part IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Mr. Thomas's kindness and care mean to Zorrie at a time, in Part I of the novel, when she is essentially homeless and very vulnerable? How does Laird communicate the meaning of Mr. Thomas's actions towards Zorrie to the reader? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What does Hunt reveal about Zorrie's community in Indiana with hers and Harold's experience of miscarriage? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What elements of the pastoral novel does Hunt borrow in Zorrie? How does Zorrie ultimately depart from the genre of the pastoral? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 643 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample