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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 is said is the result of what Trudi's mother did?

2. Where does Siegfried live?

3. With whom does Klara become lovers near the end of the war?

4. What does Siegfried begin doing in the evenings?

5. What does Hanna often do with a flower she steals here and there?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is wrong with Renate's leg and why and how does Hanna try to fix it?

2. Describe the narrator of these stories.

3. Why does Oma go back to the hospital one day?

4. What does Hanna notice about Matthias after he receives a regular visitor and what does she say to Matthias about her observation?

5. What do the townspeople thing about Hanna's mother and how do they respond to her paintings?

6. What does the narrator's mother learn when she returns to the convent after starting labor?

7. What do the townspeople say is the source of Trudi's dwarfism?

8. What does Siegfried do as a result of the dream and why does he do so?

9. What does Matthias tell Hanna about his life as a priest in training?

10. What do many people believe is the cause of Trudi becoming an old maid?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many readers of fiction place themselves in the position of one character, wondering if they would do the same thing as that character. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think one of the values of literature is to serve as a reflection of oneself? Why or why not?

2. Socrates said "Know thyself." How can reading a book such as Floating in My Mother's Palm help a reader to know him/herself? Do you find yourself reflecting on your own character and abilities when reading Floating in My Mother's Palm? Why or why not.

3. Choose one specific incident in Floating in My Mother's Palm to discuss and compare one of the characters' response to how you think you would respond.

Essay Topic 2

Hanna learns more about her parents as she grows older. This collection of stories tells the reader some of the things she learned about her parents as a young girl. Hanna learned that her father is a conservative man who often does not act impetuously. However, Hanna's father was engaged to another woman when he met and decided to marry her reckless mother. Hanna studies her parents' relationship and sees them as balancing one another out, her father keeping her mother safe and her mother injecting some happiness and excitement into her father's life.

1. How do you think a child's views of her/his parents change as they grow older? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Explain the cliche: Opposites attract; in relation to Hanna's parents. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. How do you think Hanna's life was affected by her parents' relationship and their individual differences? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think Floating in My Mother's Palm is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

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