View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. By what year had virtually all of the longleaf pines been felled, leaving only .001 percent of its former numbers?
(a) 1890.
(b) 1990.
(c) 1930.
(d) 1950.

2. In Chapter 3, Janisse describes her family's junkyard as ten acres of failed what?
(a) Memories.
(b) Machines.
(c) Plans.
(d) Goals.

3. What expensive item did Frank buy for the household in order to foster his childrens' interest in knowledge and learning?
(a) A gold-encased compass.
(b) A set of encyclopedias.
(c) A microscope kit.
(d) A marble globe.

4. What nickname did Frank call his wife, Lee Ada?
(a) Cook.
(b) Cooks.
(c) Cookie.
(d) Cookins.

5. What did Frank's children begin to watch for as a sign that he was entering a manic phase of his mental illness?
(a) Displays of anger.
(b) His tendency to talk for hours on end without listening to their replies.
(c) His inability to sleep.
(d) Impulsive actions concerning his salvaging business.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Janisse and her brothers covertly celebrate Christmas one year without their father's knowledge?

2. What game of pretend did Janisse and her brothers play inside the old school bus?

3. When Janisse's parents tell the the children the stories of their births, where do they say Janisse was found?

4. What city is NOT one of the bigger cities closest to Janisse's hometown?

5. On the outskirts of what town is the junkyard where Janisse spent her childhood?

Short Essay Questions

1. On page 79, Janisse includes the text of a letter her father Frank wrote to her. In the letter, Frank wrote that he was thankful for his mental illness and that it had taught him seven lessons. What were three of those lessons he said mental illness had taught him?

2. What is the author's purpose in relating the fact that her parents told their children false stories about their births?

3. Besides the fact that he thought it had better prices than other stores, why did Frank shop at Winn-Dixie?

4. What happened during one of the Ray family's only vacations that highlighted the fact that they were a subject of fascination for others?

5. How does Janisse describe her feelings toward her father when he was mentally unwell?

6. What descriptions of her homeland does Janisse give in order to support her claim that her "homeland is about as ugly as a place gets" (13)?

7. Why do people call certain parts of the wood of the longleaf pine "fat-lightered"?

8. How does Janisse Ray use her great-grandfather Pun's career progression to show how white-collar jobs can be even more damaging to the environment than can blue-collar jobs?

9. Janisse said there was only one type of occasion that did not elicit shame from her role as a junkyard owner's daughter. What is the only thing that occurs that does not bring her shame?

10. What is the effect on the reader when in the chapter entitled Junkyard, Janisse writes, "I was six the year mental illness stole my father," (77) and how does the author create that effect?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,492 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample