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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is supposed to be keeping watch when the two intruders arrive?

2. What does Bankole say is different from the 1990's?

3. What does Curtis want Lauren to do?

4. Where does Emery work?

5. What is a street name for the drug that causes people to want to start fires?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Lauren's relationship with Bankole. Does this seem like a relationship of equals or is Lauren searching for a father figure? What do Lauren and Bankole have in common? What obstacles seem to stand in their way?

Essay Topic 2

Lauren says early in the novel that God might just be whatever it is that makes you feel "special and protected". She outlines various different ways people conceptualize God. For each of the following ideas of God, cite examples from the text that show people believing in this type of Deity, and explain how this belief influences the character's actions:

a. God as a "super person"--Big Daddy, Cop, King, etc.

b. God as a punisher.

c. God as Nature.

d. God as a spirit/a force/ the ultimate reality.

Essay Topic 3

Although Lauren is very young, she seems much older and more mature than even many of the adults around her. Explain some of the ways in which she seems older than her years, based on examples from the text. Do you think that this believable? What do you think causes Lauren to be so mature?

(see the answer keys)

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