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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. Which of the following adjectives did Rawlings use to describe her plumbing system in Cross Creek?

2. What type of animal was Jib?

3. Which of the following factors did NOT lead to Moe's death?

4. Which of the following types of trees did NOT produce hammock soil on Rawlings's farm?

5. What was Rawlings's nickname in Cross Creek?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who were the Townsends, and what was Rawlings's relationship to them?

2. Who was Tim, and why did he leave Rawlings's property?

3. How much land did Rawlings inherit when she moved to Cross Creek, and what did she use her land for?

4. How did Mr. Marsh Turner die?

5. What health problem were the Townsend children suffering from when Mary arrived at their pound party?

6. Why did Mr. Swilley believe that Rawlings was in love with him, and why did Rawlings let him go from her service?

7. What type of relationship did Rawlings have with Leroy?

8. How did the Townsends entertain Rawlings at their pound party?

9. How did Rawlings come to shoot a pig in her garden?

10. After she left Rawlings's home for the first time, what type of working relationship did Geechee have with the farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When the memoir first opens, Rawlings spends a lot of time discussing the land of Cross Creek and her relationship to it. First, describe the land as Rawlings did in the opening of the memoir. What were your first impressions of the land? Did Rawlings's first impression of Cross Creek remain the same for the duration of the memoir?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, Rawlings's closest ally on the farm was Black Martha. What role did Martha play on the farm? How did Martha's family treat Rawlings, who was essentially their boss? How did Rawlings's relationship with Martha change her as a person? What lessons did Rawlings learn from Martha? Do you think Martha was a positive or negative influence on Rawlings's life in Cross Creek?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the memoir, Rawlings contemplates what it means to be rich and what it means to be poor, even going so far as to say the poor are "a cleaned, naked version of the rich." What do you think Rawlings meant by this statement? To whom was she referring when she made it? Then, choose one rich person and one poor person that lived in Cross Creek. Do you think this statement reflects the relationship between these two people? Finally, describe Rawlings's view on the rich and poor at the end of the memoir. Had her views on these two classes of people changed through her experiences at Cross Creek?

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