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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 best described the yachtsman's wife?

2. What had Rawlings and Kate's brother been hunting when they returned home to find the house destroyed?

3. What was the name of Rawlings's cow?

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

5. What did Rawlings comment on when she held a snake for the first time?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Rawlings overcome her fear of snakes?

2. How did Rawlings's diet change when she was hospitalized in Cross Creek?

3. How did Rawlings and Dessie navigate the maze of tributaries that were not listed on Rawlings's river map?

4. What did Rawlings learn about her fear of snakes while she was out hunting with Ross?

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

6. How was Rawlings feeling about her life at the time when Dessie invited her on a river trip?

7. What type of relationship did Rawlings have with the frogs that overtook Cross Creek in springtime?

8. What type of work did Samson do on Rawlings's farm?

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

10. How did Rawlings kill the cottonmouth snake she found in her house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Widow Slater's religious beliefs affect her daily life and the life of her children? How did Rawlings treat the Widow Slater and her family? How did Rawlings's treatment of the family compare to the way she represented the family in the text? What can the reader learn about Rawlings's own religious beliefs through witnessing her reaction to Widow Slater's?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Although Rawlings often claims to love her servants and to treat them with respect, she often speaks about them, and even to them, in a profoundly racist way. First, describe Rawlings's stance on racism in Cross Creek. What does she blame racism on? Then, describe at least two examples of times when Rawlings regarded her servants in a racist way. What was the reaction from the staff to this treatment? As a reader, what was your reaction to Rawlings's racist statements? Would you consider Rawlings to be a hypocrite?

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