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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. When Nyla starts crying, what does Ezra do?

2. What does Nyle decide about the next day?

3. Of what does Mrs. Trent start showing symptoms?

4. What do Muncie and Nyle do after working in the pasture?

5. What is unusual about Nyle's house that makes her stop?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the girls do in Radio Shack and why is that ironic?

2. How does Mr. Sobel get Nyle thinking about radiation poisoning and why is the topic particularly applicable?

3. The issue of a drawn curtain occurs in this chapter, in previous chapters, and in future chapters. How does this issue come up in this chapter and venture a guess as to the significance of the incident.

4. What is the first sign of hope that Ezra shows?

5. What does it mean when Nyle looks at all of her treasures and realizes that if the wind shifts, she will have to leave them all behind?

6. How do you think the theme of determination plays out in this chapter?

7. What is ironic about Ezra's feeling about the back room?

8. What are the girls studying in their English class that is a major theme of this book?

9. What emotion do you think Muncie is feeling as she inquires why Nyle did not come study with her the night before?

10. What happens that demonstrates one minor theme in this book--that is, not accepting people for who they are?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In chapter 6, Gran tells Nyle to throw her mask out. She says that she threw hers away immediately upon hearing the good news that the leak is capped at the plant. Nyle chooses instead to hang it on a hook in the kitchen as a symbol of remembrance. Answer the following questions by writing a cohesive essay using specific examples and details to illustrate your stance.

1. What do you think Nyle will remember by seeing the mask in a year? Ten years? Near the end of her life?

2. Will Nyle's memories change over the months and years? How do you think they will change? How likely is it that she will remember this clearly when she is elderly and reporting the times to her grandchildren?

3. Do you think it is healthier to throw away the mask and move on as Gran does or to keep the mask as a memory as Nyle does? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

In chapter 11, Ezra says he feels like a phoenix and how good it feels to be alive. Answer the following questions by writing a cohesive essay using specific examples and details to illustrate your stance.

1. What is a phoenix? From what culture does the image of the phoenix come?

2. The image of the phoenix occurs in chapter 12 and chapter 21, both in relation to Ezra. Analyze how the image is used in both places and discuss how you think the phoenix is a good image for Ezra.

3. Knowing that Ezra dies in the end, so in a sense he does not rise from the ashes as a phoenix does, how does that inform the title of this book? How could the symbol of the phoenix apply to Ezra at the end of the book?

Essay Topic 3

In chapter 6, Mrs. Trent asks Nyle if she would dip the washcloth into the sweet water and dab it on Ezra's lips. Immediately, Nyle remembers her grandmother promised that she would not have to tend to Ezra's physical needs, but she sees the look of exhaustion on Mrs. Trent's face and decides that this is another one of those things that "she needed to do." Answer the following questions by writing a cohesive essay using specific examples and details to illustrate your stance.

1. Compare and contrast how Nyle feels about caring for Ezra when she first starts the care giving to near the end of the time Nyle has to care for him.

2. What do you think shifts Nyle's attitude? Give examples.

3. Do you think it is fair of Gran to expect Nyle to care for a stranger? Why or why not?

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