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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. Who is the real estate agent who comes to view Howard's farm?

2. Who is Theresa's remaining daughter?

3. What does Alice do when she sees the girls in the jail?

4. Howard meditates on the impact of personality in history and cites Mikhail Gorbachev and __________________.

5. Howard recalls his father's moral of ____________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is happening in the Goodwin's lives that starts to let them feel normal again?

2. What is Alice's perspective on Nellie's so-called generosity?

3. How do the girls adapt to "hobo life" as Howard calls their apartment adventure?

4. How does Theresa add comfort to the lives of Howard and the girls at the same time that the farm is dying?

5. How do Howard and the girls prepare to move out of the farmhouse?

6. What is the purpose of the interviews conducted with Alice's daughters and the Child Welfare Office?

7. How does Alice feel about Rafferty's plans for her and for the trial?

8. Why does Alice compare Howard to her father?

9. How does Howard describe his state of confusion in Chapter 11?

10. Describe Theresa's last night with Howard and the girls.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Prejudice takes on an almost human persona in this story. What is this literary technique called? Cite three examples that support this position.

Essay Topic 2

The author begins the story from Alice's perspective and then transitions to Howard's perspective and then reverts back to Alice's perspective. Why did she choose to tell the story this way? In what way is an alternating point of view more interesting for a reader? In what ways is it more complicated?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the overall setting for the novel. Why does Hamilton use the setting she does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

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