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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Both Betsy and Josephine call to give Phillip what news?
(a) Their father is deathly ill.
(b) Their father is moving back to Nashville.
(c) Their father is remarrying.
(d) Their father has eloped with a young woman.

2. What does Father state as his reason for not liking Wyant?
(a) Father does not like the Brawleys.
(b) Wyant is not from Memphis.
(c) Wyant is not trustworthy.
(d) Wyant is not a good driver.

3. How many of George Carver's children marry?
(a) None.
(b) Three.
(c) One.
(d) Two.

4. Where does Alex teach?
(a) Memphis State University
(b) University of Tennessee in Nashville.
(c) University of Tennessee in Knowville.
(d) Vanderbilt

5. What does Phillip do with the gift he had plans to give to Clara but does not?
(a) Mails it to Clara.
(b) Sells it at a pawn shop.
(c) Returns it to his mother.
(d) Keeps it with his valuables.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long after the move to Memphis do Betsy and her beau break off their relationship?

2. Within a few weeks of meeting Clara, where does Phillip begin spending his Saturday nights?

3. When does Phillip's brother die?

4. How does Alex's father define the best human being?

5. Who does Mr. Carver confide in when he wants to block Phillip from marrying his girlfriend in Chattanooga?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 5, Phillip describes his summer at Fort Oglethorpe. What was this summer like for him? Why has he chosen this summer in particular to describe in detail?

2. In Chapter 3, Phillip paints a picture of his parents and his two sisters living in Memphis and their conversations about dating and the men they are both seeing. How does this appear to him when he is home visiting? How do Betsy and Josephine behave in front of their parents? What is the topic of conversation much of the time Phillip is visiting? How do the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Carver respond to their middle-aged daughters' banter?

3. In Chapter 6, Phillip describes many of the differences between himself and Alex as adult men. He then notes the differences. What is the primary difference between Alex and Phillip as Phillip sees it?

4. In Chapter 1, the narrator begins the story with an explanation of the perils of a widower with middle-aged children,dating. What is the major issue faced by the widower? What examples of this situation does the narrator provide?

5. Phillip paints a descriptive picture of his two sisters, Betsy and Josephine, in Chapter 1. How are the two sisters similar? How do they differ?

6. In Chapter 4, Phillip describes meeting Alex Mercer. How does Phillip meet Alex and how does their friendship grow? What do each represent to the other?

7. In Chapter 3, Phillip talks at length about what his sisters have done for both himself and his brother, Georgie. What have they done for their brothers to help them in their lives? What have they potentially sacrificed by helping their brothers in this way? How do the two women continue to take care of their father after the boys leave home?

8. In Chapter 4, Alex also meets Mr. Carver. Where do the two meet, and what brings them together? How does their relationship grow during the course of the chapter?

9. In Chapter 4, Phillip speaks of two important relationships in the novel. One is the friendship between Phillip and Alex. The other is the friendship between Alex and Mr. Carver. Father and son are not particularly close, but each are close to Alex. In this chapter, how does this triangle of friendship begin to display itself?

10. At the end of Chapter 1, Phillip gives a detailed explanation of how the family's move to Memphis affected every member of the family. Who appears to have handled the transition the best? For whom was it the hardest? Discuss the impact on each of the four children and Mr. and Mrs. Carver.

(see the answer keys)

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