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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 is Mother's ethnic heritage?

2. What is the topic of the first book Annie borrows from a friend's house?

3. What position did Father have during the war when he was fighting?

4. When Annie Dillard imagines everything leaving her brain, what is the one thing she thinks will remain?

5. What is the name of the firm where Annie's father works?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Father's role in the film "Night of the Living Dead"?

2. How does Annie describe life for the typical family after WWII?

3. How does Mother react to Father's desire to travel down the river?

4. How does Annie explore the skin of her parents?

5. How was the city of Pittsburgh founded?

6. What happened when Annie is caught throwing snowballs at a car?

7. As she is drawing, what realization does Annie come to about the way children view the world?

8. How does Annie Dillard describe Pittsburgh in the 18th century?

9. How do Annie's parents feel about jokes in the home?

10. What does Annie remember most about the destruction of her neighborhood from the tornado?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Annie is visiting the Smokey Islands with her father, she is introduced to the locking system of the rivers. First, explain the function of the locking systems in rivers. Then, describe Annie's reaction to the locking systems, and how the knowledge of these systems altered her relationship with Father forever.

Essay Topic 2

Annie's favorite sport as a child was baseball. First, explain how Annie was introduced to the sport, and how the sport of baseball affected her daily life. Then, describe Annie's experience playing baseball with the neighborhood children. What did she learn from this experience? Finally, describe Annie's emotions about the transition from playing baseball to playing softball. What did she learn about herself in this experience?

Essay Topic 3

Annie frequently parallels her own intelligence with her mother's. First, explain how Annie describes her own intelligence. Then explain how Annie describes her mother's intelligence. Why do you think Annie makes this constant parallel? What part of her identity is Annie attempting to forge through this comparison?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 815 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample