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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 unusual meat was Governor Grant said to be a fan of?

2. What did Rawlings hang in the orange groves to repel hawks?

3. Which of Martha's relatives did Samson marry?

4. How did Rawlings describe the king snake that lived near her driveway?

5. What type of animal was Ferdinand?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Rawlings overcome her fear of snakes?

2. How did Rawlings feel about the yachtsman she met in Sanford?

3. What animals did Rawlings hunt with her Aunt Wilmer, and how did the women get along during their hunting trip?

4. What trouble did ants give Rawlings during planting season on the farm?

5. Why did Rawlings fire Raymond?

6. Who was Mr. Butler, and where did he die?

7. What vegetables were regularly eaten in Cross Creek?

8. What types of bread were regularly served in Cross Creek, and which was Rawlings's favorite?

9. What type of snakes lived on Rawlings's property, and how did she feel about these different varieties?

10. How did Rawlings know that the season was changing from spring to summer based on the activity outside her window?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The people of Cross Creek were often plagued with poverty although Rawlings rarely states this blatantly. Choose one family from Cross Creek and describe their poverty. How did the family come to be so poor? How did they deal with their poverty? In what ways did Rawlings succeed in showing the poverty of Cross Creek without having to state it directly? How did living among the poor in Cross Creek affect Rawlings's own relationship with money?

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

In Cross Creek there were seven families, five white and two black. First, list all seven families that lived in Cross Creek and give a short description of each family. Then, describe Rawlings's relationship with her neighbors. Why was it important for Rawlings to list the races of the families in Cross Creek in the opening chapter? How does this identification give the reader further insight into the social dynamics of Cross Creek? Did this identification of race prove to be important to understanding the memoir as as whole?

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