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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. When Ginny has the memory of her father abusing her, who does she scream for, though the person does not come to her aid?

2. What is the task Ginny is trying to accomplish, one that takes her until noon that morning?

3. Jess' father decided to take the day off from ____________ planting to host the pig roast for his son.

4. After Ginny finally falls asleep, she wakes up to Jess telling her that Larry is at ____________.

5. Ginny and her sister, Rose, raised Caroline the best they could after their ____________ died and could not help them.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Jess in church that morning, as he explains later when his father and brother are not around?

2. What is on the papers which Ken LaSalle gives to Ginny when she is served?

3. What ends the two week long Monopoly game and causes the family to react angrily?

4. When Ty returns with the missing Larry, what does Larry have to say to Ginny in person?

5. What happens when Jess arrives at Ginny's with frozen meat for her to store for him and for Harold?

6. What happens to the kitchen cabinets that Larry purchases, even though he doesn't need them?

7. How does Ginny describe the dimensions of her flat world as an 8-year-old in 1951?

8. Why does Ginny run back home on her way to feed her father one morning?

9. When Ginny takes her nieces to the swimming pool, what do they complain about to her?

10. What happens to Ginny after she cleans the carpet in her house, a task which takes her until noon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The multiple miscarriages of Ginny are a sad fact she shares almost without feeling at times.

Part 1: Why do you think Ginny has continued to have so many miscarriages in her life?

Part 2: What is the symbolism of Ginny not being able to carry a child in her womb?

Part 3: Do you think the Ginny would have made a good mother? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Many of the characters have their moments of seeming to be normal and well-adjusted and even happy, but at other times, these are simply guises under which they hide.

Part 1: Why do you think so many characters hide their true feelings in this story?

Part 2: What does it say about the author's own ability to trust people at face value?

Part 3: How might the story have been different had the characters simply acted in an honest and authentic way?

Essay Topic 3

Rose seems to have a very simple way of dealing with the abuse of her father, but Ginny wants to go deeper with the explanation.

Part 1: What do you think of Rose's explanation that Larry did what he did because he could?

Part 2: What do you think of Ginny's quest to learn more about Larry's motivations to abuse them?

Part 3: Do you think Rose can ever come to peace with her past in the limited explanation she has accepted? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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