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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. How did Trethewey and her mother often get around the city in New Orleans?

2. Which writer wrote, "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware?"

3. What was the name of Trethewey's grandmother's mother-in-law?

4. Which great-aunt did Trethewey spend much time with as a child?

5. Where did Trethewey take long walks with her father?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was unusual about the plant Trethewey saved after her mother's death?

2. When and where did Trethewey first encounter racism from other children?

3. What did Trethewey remember fearing about her drives around Atlanta with Joel?

4. Why did Trethewey's father encourage her to become a writer?

5. What pain did Trethewey's grandmother describe long after Gwendolyn had died?

6. Why did Trethewey's father want to take her and her mother to Mexico in the 1960s?

7. What is one thing Trethewey remembered her mother doing to their apartment in Atlanta to try to make her feel more at home?

8. What did Trethewey want more than anything after moving to Atlanta?

9. Why did it take longer than it might have for Trethewey to realize her father and mother had separated?

10. What did Trethewey remember most clearly about leaving Mississippi for Atlanta in 1972?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What were Trethewey's mother's and grandmother's experiences with the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What happened to the cassette tape Trethewey unexpectedly found after Gwendolyn's murder that contained her mother's voice? How did Trethewey explain her choice to deliberately try to forget some of her memories from growing up? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What was the significance of Trethewey's father granting her the name Cassandra, from Greek mythology, in his own writings? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 652 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample