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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 Mama plan on getting with her leftover money?

2. In Chapter 1, what do the cows do in the pasture?

3. What is the little boy's name that is waiting in the dentist office?

4. Why does James pretend that he is still asleep?

5. What was James doing beside the trap while Mama was over by the fence?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does James look at the nurse all pitiful?

2. What other thing does Monsieur Bayonne do besides praying to help James' jaw?

3. Who does James say he wants to be like when he grows up and what will he have?

4. What does the man in the cafe do?

5. Describe the scene where James is waiting.

6. Describe the girl that is sitting across from James on the bus.

7. When the young man starts talking about questioning everything what does the preacher do?

8. What kind of interaction do James and the girl have right before James gets off the bus?

9. Why doesn't James mind that he and his Mama are walking all the way back to the cafe where black people eat?

10. What choice does Mama give James in Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 7 of The Sky is Gray, there is a conversation between the preacher and a boy in the waiting room. They get into a heated argument and the preacher ends up hitting the boy. Why did the preacher feel it was necessary to take physical action with the boy? Do you think the patrons of the dentist's office cared that the preacher had hit the boy? Why or why not? Do you think hitting the boy helped the preacher find favor with the other people waiting? Did the preacher feel he was right in hitting the boy? Does the preacher think that God finds favor in what he did to the boy? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In the story, The Sky is Gray, James and his family are obviously poor. There are many things that James has never had or never will have in his lifetime. What things do you think James, Mama and the rest of the family have to work for that some people in the story (mainly white people) don't think twice about? What examples do you read about in the story to help you come to the conclusion that James' family is poor? How does this help you connect with James and with Mama? Use specific examples from the story.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the different moods presented in the story, The Sky is Gray. What type of events help to create the moods in each chapter or section of the story? How do the moods change throughout the book? Are there any underlying moods that stay throughout the whole story? If so, what are they? By the end of the book, has the mood changed for the better or for the worst?

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