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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 character is the youngest child in the Lamb family?

2. Lester Lamb confesses his sorrow of having given what up in Chapter VIII?

3. Who decides to accompany Rose, Quick, and their son, on vacation in Chapter X?

4. How long do Rose and Quick date before they wed in Chapter VIII?

5. What central theme in the novel relates closely with the Pickles family?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the discussion about the black man voting in Chapter X?

2. How does Toby Raven respond when his work is mistaken for another writer’s at the party in Chapter VIII? What is indicated by this response?

3. What bad things begin happening after Sam Pickles has foreseen bad luck in Chapter IX?

4. Where does Quick Lamb work in the beginning if Chapter VI? How is he injured on the job in this chapter?

5. What is foreshadowed by the marriage of Hattie Lamb in Chapter VII?

6. What does Rose Pickles initially find attractive about Toby Raven in Chapter VIII? How do her feelings change?

7. What is revealed in the conversation between Lester and Oriel Lamb after the return of Quick in Chapter VII?

8. What does Quick dream of when he is knocked unconscious in Chapter VI?

9. How does the author address the concept of faith through Oriel and Lester in Chapter X?

10. How does the relationship between Dolly and Rose Pickles evolve in Chapter IX?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the accident that injures Fish Lamb in Chapter II and the repercussions of this accident. How has Fish’s mental status changed from the accident? Why? Who feels to blame for the incident?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the character of Beryl Lee in the novel. Where does Oriel meet Beryl? Why does she invite Beryl to live at Cloudstreet? How does she fit in with the two families there? Why does Beryl leave Cloudstreet? Where does she go after leaving?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of luck as perceived by the Lamb and Pickles families in the novel. How is this theme symbolized by the spinning of the butter knife by the Lamb family? What role does luck play in the establishment of the grocery store? How do the Pickles differ in their perceptions of luck?

(see the answer keys)

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