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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. Whose dream of a ladder to heaven is described in "Bible Times"?

2. What sport did Jack Woodson play in high school and college?

3. What did Jacqueline come to call her maternal grandfather when living with him, according to the narrative of "Gunnar's Children"?

4. Where did Mary Anne's family live in South Carolina?

5. What is the name of Mary Anne Woodson's sister who was less than a year older than her?

Short Essay Questions

1. When and where does the author describe her paternal great-great-grandfather's birth in "It’ll Be Scary Sometimes"?

2. How is the history of slavery described in Jackie's maternal grandparents' ancestry in "The Garden"?

3. How does the author establish the social and political atmosphere into which she was born in "Second Daughter’s Second Day on Earth"?

4. How is the Woodsons' lineage described in "The Woodsons of Ohio"?

5. How does the author describe her siblings in the poems "The Reader" and "Hope" from Part 1?

6. How is Odell described in the poem "Uncle Odell"? Who was named for Odell?

7. What does the author describe calling her grandfather in "Gunnar's Children"? How does she describe her feelings for her grandfather?

8. Who is the focus of the poem "Football Dreams"? What is related in this narrative?

9. How does the author describe the names in her family in "Family Names"?

10. How does the author describe her ancestry in "February 12, 1963"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the themes of family and sacrifice seen in the memoir. What are some of the sacrifices that Georgiana has made for her children and grandchildren? What are sacrifices Gunnar has made? How has Mary Anne sacrificed for her children?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the Woodson ancestry. How was Jacqueline Woodson related to Thomas Jefferson? How many children did Thomas Jefferson father with Sally Hemings? How does the author relate this information in Brown Girl Dreaming? Why does she relate it?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the imagery and symbolism in the final poems of Part 1. Why did Jackie and her family travel at night on the bus from South Carolina to Ohio? How does the author describe the river they follow on their journey? What do you think the river represents symbolically? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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