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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. How long did Nancy and her husband live the high life during their life of crime?

2. What did most of the women at York Correctional Institution ask Wally about on his first visit with them?

3. The man in #50 had inherited his business from whom?

4. What was Tabatha's crime?

5. What name did Wally have for especially difficult students?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Wally's hope for the readers who read the women's stories?

2. Describe Carolyn's initial perceptions of prison life and what humiliations did she endure?

3. Why was Wally originally asked to come to the York Correctional Institution in 1999?

4. What was the state of Nancy's parents' relationship and what fears did she live with regarding her family life?

5. How did Nancy describe Isadore's life?

6. What was Wally's reasoning for not being able to refuse Marge Cohen's call to come to York Correctional Institution?

7. How did Tabatha's hair mirror what she was going through in different phases of her life and how did she wear her hair after five years in prison?

8. Who was Aldo and what influence did he have on Nancy's life?

9. Describe some of Carolyn's experiences during a very troubled childhood.

10. What was Carolyn's crime?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Betrayal is an important theme in the stories. Can you cite an example to support this theme? Name two other themes and cite examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the role of the family in the women's stories. What does it mean for some of the characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How are some of the families fractured? Give examples.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the impact of intolerance or injustice that some of the women of color experienced. What did it mean to be poor and not white in 20th century America? What stigmas did these women of color live with for their entire lives? Was there anything that could have leveled the racial discrimination playing field? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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