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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 item spills out of Ellen's mother's purse?

2. Who does Ellen stop speaking to?

3. At the grave site, who does Ellen avoid looking at?

4. What present does Ellen receive from Starletta's family?

5. Who is Dora?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author create a reversal of the mother-daughter role in the novel?

2. Why does Ellen feel that she is better off being a ward of the county rather than being in the custody of her father?

3. In what ways does the author indicate that Ellen's father killed Ellen's mother?

4. How is the pony's name, Dolphin, a symbol of freedom to Ellen?

5. How can a reader tell that Ellen may harbor some prejudices toward African American people?

6. Why does Ellen have to make sure that she retrieves the envelope of money from the mailbox before her father can get to it?

7. How does Ellen's grandmother cause a scene at the funeral?

8. What are some of the fun and leisure activities Ellen is granted in her new home?

9. Why does Ellen have conflicting views about Starletta's family?

10. In Chapter 2, how does Ellen hint at favoritism towards her mother's family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ellen describes her 11th birthday in detail in the text. Why is this birthday significant to Ellen and her journey to her new life? How does Ellen previously celebrate her birthdays?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the elements of Ellen's personality. How does Ellen exhibit a dualism in her personality?

Essay Topic 3

Using the context clues located in the story, how can the reader determine the setting even though the author and narrator never explicitly provides the reader with the information?

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This section contains 532 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample