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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. Who is Nathan?

2. What is the occasion of Yvonne's last visit to Elaine?

3. What did Elaine think of the Rockefeller drug laws before she was arrested?

4. What was the minimum sentence for Elaine's crime when she was arrested?

5. What year were the Rockefeller drug laws passed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Jamel's appearance when Elaine visits him at Riker's Island.

2. What is the result of Judge Clyne's eleven years on the bench?

3. What is the purpose of South Forty?

4. What does Elaine choose to wear in Chapter 1.

5. Describe Project Renewal.

6. By 1998, what changes had the Rockefeller drug laws had on the New York prison system?

7. Describe the appearance of Charlie, also known as George Deets.

8. Describe Elaine's mother.

9. What educational opportunities is Elaine involved with while in prison?

10. Why do you think some women have a hard time leaving Bedford Hills Prison?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What would you do if you spent sixteen years in prison for your first offense? You're serving time along with violent offenders, although there is nothing violent about your crime. How would you feel? Do you think it would be any different than how Elaine felt when she was first locked up? How would you spend your days?

Essay Topic 2

In "Life on the Outside," it appears that the only thing that Elaine and Lora have in common is that they're both African-American women. They grow up with different socio-economic status. One has formal education as a young adult; the other doesn't. One is a mother; the other isn't. One suffers from HIV; the other doesn't. One serves time in prison; the other doesn't. They even have different opinions about men. Yet somehow these two women become friends. Why do you think this happens? What draws these two women to each other?

Essay Topic 3

Often in a book, main characters undergo change as a result of what happens to them in the story. What kinds of changes does Elaine undergo during "Life on the Outside?" Are they changes for the better or worse?

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