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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. In "The First Day", the admissions staff members at Seaton Elementary look like models out of which of the following magazines?

2. What is the only reason Cassandra does not think it would be fair to shoot the fathers of Joyce's and Pearl's babies?

3. What put Sherman in the hospital?

4. When the protagonist of "The First Day" initiates the "old, old game", how does her mother respond?

5. What does Cassandra do instead of attending class?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the character of Cassandra G. Lewis in "The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed".

2. Why does the protagonist's mother slap her across the mouth in "The First Day"?

3. In "The First Day", how does the protagonist's mother prepare her for the first day of school?

4. How does the protagonist's mother feel about leaving her child at the school in "The First Day"?

5. Why is the protagonist of "The First Day" turned away from Seaton Elementary?

6. Describe Robert's reaction to becoming a widower and single father in "The Girl Who Raised Pigeons."

7. What is the central difference between Caesar and Sherman?

8. In "The First Day", why does the protagonist's mother have her heart set on taking her to a particular school?

9. What do the pigeons symbolize?

10. Discuss Caesar's feelings for Carol.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the role of geography, space, and place in two or more of the stories in Jones' collection. How does Jones capture, explore, and comment on the urban environment of Washington, D.C.? How does Jones enlarge conventional notions of the nation's capitol city? In what ways do the depictions of the city in these stories interact with or build upon on another? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of education in two or more of the stories in this collection. How does education play a role in these stories? What is Jones' commentary regarding education itself and the role education plays in this particular community? Provide details from the stories to support your argument.

Essay Topic 3

In the study of urban life, the theme of containment--of limited possibility for inner city people--comes to the forefront. Discuss the notion of containment or mobility in this collection of short stories. Do the characters seem confined, restrained, or inescapably bound to their circumstances in the city? Or, are they free to move in and out of the physical and social spaces provided for them within the city? How does Jones create this sense of freedom or restriction? And, what commentary does he provide on this condition?

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