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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. Whom does Sissie witness throwing up in the second summer?

2. What item makes Sissie feel powerless in the first summer?

3. Which of the following thoughts does Sissie have about her father?

4. Whom does Sissie try to pacify as she waits for her father in the second summer?

5. The reader can determine that the narrator has matured by the second summer after studying which of the following?

Short Essay Questions

1. After reading about Sissie's first summer experience at the tavern, what predictions can be made about the rest of the story?

2. Why did Sissie marry Jesse?

3. Choose one literary device used in Part 2 and explain how it is used.

4. Why does Sissie get angry when she sees the mysterious man at the bar as an adult?

5. When Sissie sees her father throwing up, why is she afraid?

6. What sets Sissie apart from the other children in Part 1?

7. What causes Sissie to lose trust in her mother?

8. Describe Sissie's view of her father the first summer at the tavern.

9. How does Sissie compare herself to the boat she rides in? Why?

10. Is Sissie powerless the first summer? Why or why not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Sissie's development as a character. Describe her starting position in comparison to her ending position. How does she change physically? How do her emotions and beliefs change? Why?

Essay Topic 2

What is the significance of the title "Four Summers" to the story? How does it relate to the setting and Sissie's character development? Is the title so important that if it were changed, it would change the story's context? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

How can the reader tell the differences between each narration? How does the reader know that the narrator has matured between sections? How does diction change? How does Sissie's comprehension change?

(see the answer keys)

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