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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 does the sign in Robin's housing unit say?

2. What did Diane's father do on a trip to Chattanooga?

3. Why did Bonnie refuse to wear pants in prison?

4. Where did the character in #145 work?

5. What were lovers from separate housing units able to do during mass?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Diane's father make her do when he took her hunting for the first time?

2. Who was Reese and how did he enter Mo'Shay's life?

3. What elements of her Rastararian faith did Bonnie try to adhere to at the time that she arrived at prison?

4. How did Diane Bartholomew describe her very difficult childhood?

5. What effect did Barbara think that her incarceration had on her children?

6. What did Bonnie Foreshaw write about her childhood Jamaican family celebrations and occasions?

7. Who were Barbara Parsons Lane's first visitors while in prison, and what did she consider to be the worst part of her incarceration?

8. How did Diane's father betray her trust with violence while on a trip to Chattanooga?

9. What memory from her past did Mo'Shay have that made her apprehensive about having sex with Reese?

10. To what did Barbara compare puzzle pieces in her life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The women in the book were no strangers to hurt and pain. From what you know of the women's lives through this book, what were some of the biggest sorrows and worst betrayals? How did they manage through them? How did their coping skills evidence themselves in many aspects of their lives? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Several of the women's stories are classic stories of loss and renewal. What does that classification entail? Why do some of the stories fit into this category? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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