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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 Jack and Grover left Nancy for three months in California while she was pregnant, they went to an Indian reservation where in “Lying Doggo”?

2. Nancy and her husband live in a small town an hour’s drive from what city in “Nancy Culpepper”?

3. What surgery has Ruby recently had in “Third Monday”?

4. How many hours did it take Bill and Imogene to reach Nashville, according to the narrator in the beginning of “The Ocean”?

5. What kind of business does Nancy’s husband run in “Nancy Culpepper”?

Short Essay Questions

1. How much money do Bill and Imogene have with them as they travel in “The Ocean”? Where are they going?

2. What does Georgeann’s mother warn her of when Georgeann marries Shelby Pickett in “The Retreat”?

3. How did Mary meet her husband in “Residents and Transients”? How are Mary and her husband similar?

4. How is Linda’s character described in the beginning of “Third Monday”?

5. How is the interstate highway compared with the ocean in “The Ocean”?

6. What does Gladys tell Ruby about Buddy at the market when he’s not there in “Third Monday”?

7. What is Edwin Creech doing in the opening of “A New-Wave Format”?

8. What does Jack say about the people he’s cared about that have died in “Lying Doggo”?

9. How is Georgeann’s senior prom described in “The Retreat”?

10. What can be interpreted of Joe McClain’s character through his actions in “Graveyard Day”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine and discuss the symbolism seen in “Offerings.” What are the “offerings” in the story that the title is based on? What is symbolized by “the thousands of large golden garden spiders hidden in the field” described in the ending?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of communication in “The Rookers” and Mack’s phone calls to the weather service in the story. What do these calls indicate in regards to Mack’s ability to communicate with his family?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the characters of Cleo Watkins and Rita Jean Wiggins in “Old Things.” How old are these characters? How would you characterize their relationship to one another? How are the characters similar? How are they different?

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