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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 the store owner with whom Lucy has sex?

2. How much is Lucy like her mother?

3. How much money had Lucy's father left Lucy's mother when he died?

4. What does Lucy see Lewis do to Dinah?

5. Where do Mariah and the girls spend the Summer?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Lucy tell her mother the tawdry details of her life, and how does her mother respond?

2. What is the content of the most recent letter Lucy has from her mother and how does she respond to it?

3. What irony does Lucy note regarding Mariah's affluent lifestyle and her interest in environmental protection?

4. What are the circumstances that lead to Lucy having sex with Hugh?

5. For Lucy, why isn't sex accompanied by an emotional connection?

6. What is Lucy's relationship with Hugh?

7. Who is Dinah and what are Lucy's perceptions of her?

8. What do the situations with Tanner and Hugh represent in Lucy's life?

9. What are the reasons that Lucy does not like her mother?

10. What does Mariah share with Lucy about her intimate life with Lewis?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

LUCY is sometimes defined as an autobiographical piece based on Jamaica Kincaid's life. Do some research about Kincaid's life and describe how Kincaid based the novel on her own life experiences.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the role of the family in LUCY. What does family mean to each of the main characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How typical do you think Mariah's family is as compared to other wealthy families in the mid-20th century? How does Mariah's family differ from Lucy's family back in the islands?

Essay Topic 3

What is the overall setting for the novel? Be sure to include geography, time period, and any pertinent popular culture events. Why did Kincaid choose to use these places and this time in the novel?

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This section contains 1,038 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample