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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. What does Mr. Myles command with a wave of his arm?

2. What does Virgil’s father do in America?

3. Why can Mr. Myles not speak?

4. What surprises Virgil about his father?

5. What is Royce paid for this job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what happened to make Sae Young afraid of the world.

2. Explain what happens during the rainstorm.

3. Why does Virgil eventually feel pity for his father?

4. What is Curtis trying to show through the growth of the tomatoes?

5. Explain what Curtis does to thwart off the thieves.

6. What is the point of the program for teen mothers?

7. Describe Curtis, as he is now, in terms of his priorities.

8. Describe Sam’s contest, and the winning idea.

9. Explain why Virgil becomes angry and ashamed at his father.

10. What brings Sae Young back out into the world, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Suspicion of others is a major theme in the novel, as there are many who are suspicious of their neighbors in this particular area. How does the garden help these individuals to lower their guard with one another? What is the garden able to do that merely living together does not do?

Essay Topic 2

Going back through the characters, list the cultural heritage each comes from. How diverse is this neighborhood? Would the garden have been as amazing had the neighborhood been predominately white or Hispanic? Why or why not? How did the activities in the garden go from what Sam noted, a mirror of a segregated society, to what Amir noted, as a harvest feast among a cultural melting pot?

Essay Topic 3

Briefly go through each of the characters in the novel, and explain how the garden helped to improve their lives, circumstances, or outlook on life. Be sure to include details of each story to show an understanding of how the garden affected the characters.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 776 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample