View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the cook for the boardinghouse?

2. How old is Hattie as the story begins?

3. To whose home does Hattie walk as she heads through town?

4. Why does Adam arrive at the boardinghouse at around five o'clock the next day?

5. How does Adam react to what Nancy calls him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What secret ability does Adam have that he shares with Hattie?

2. Why does Hattie decide not to ask Nana to take her to the movies?

3. Why does Nana think that her daughter "married beneath her"?

4. What does Hattie mean when she says "before Adam" or "after Adam"?

5. What are the three rules of the Owen family's boardinghouse?

6. What does Adam do with his drink at dinner that makes Nana chastise him?

7. What does Adam mean when he says that Hattie is the kind of person who can "lift the corner of the universe"?

8. Why do Hattie and Adam equate themselves to being aliens?

9. What is Hattie doing at the beginning of Chapter 5?

10. How does Adam's recollection of Hattie's birthday serve as foreshadowing in the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of responsibility. Identify at least two instances about responsibility in the book and then cite examples to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the lives of Hattie and Betsy. How are their circumstances similar? In what ways are their lives different? What draws them together to make them friends?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the significance of the book's title. What does the author mean by calling it simply "A Corner of the Universe"? What is she trying to emphasize with this emphatic style? Suggest three alternate titles for this book with supporting rationale for each one.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 905 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample