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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 Chanel's new job?

2. Dasani’s family boarded the ferry to go to the homeless shelter in what city?

3. Who is Auntie Joan?

4. What color does Dasani pick her wardrobe in?

5. Supreme dropped out of school to do what for a living?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the irony of the Welfare System in Chapter 40?

2. What is the “Knockout Game” and how does it enter into Dasani’s inspirational storyline?

3. What is symbolic about Dasani's graduation?

4. Chapter 23 opens on who's nightmare of their childhood?

5. What does it mean to have a home for Dasani? Is it just a roof overhead or something more? Explain.

6. Later in Chapter 37, where do all of Dasani's siblings meet?

7. Where does Dasani go for sanctuary in Chapter 30?

8. What are Chanel and Supreme’s reasons for not looking for an apartment in Chapter 22?

9. What is methadone? What purpose does it serve? Who funds it?

10. Elliot says Dasani’s homelessness has set her adrift? Explain what she means by this.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role of the author, Andrea Elliott, in reporting and writing this story. What are some of the ethical challenges of a project like this?

Essay Topic 2

Elliott writes that Dasani’s parents, depending on your perspective, are “either ‘working the system’ or ‘making ends meet.’” Did you share one of these opinions before you started reading? Did your opinion change after reading the book?

Essay Topic 3

Dasani has a complicated relationship with her mother, Chanel—just as Chanel had with her own mother, Joanie. How might this mother-daughter dynamic help or hinder a family living on the edge?

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