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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 do Jack and Julie wrap their Mother in to carry her body downstairs?

2. Which character frightens another causing the sibling to urinate on him/herself?

3. Who does not approve of Julie's extracurricular activities?

4. Who is stripped and examined by kids as part of a game?

5. What does Jack do after the ambulance takes his father?

Short Essay Questions

1. After they go back inside the house, what plans for Mother's body do the three older siblings discuss?

2. What happens to the garden after Father's first heart attack?

3. Describe the social life of Jack's family.

4. What do Julie and Jack do with sand and how long does it take?

5. What discussion does Mother have with Jack when she calls him to her bedside?

6. Where does the family celebrate Jack's birthday and why?

7. Why is Tom tired of being a boy?

8. How does Jack release tension in the garden at the beginning of Chapter 4? Why does he stop?

9. What does Mother talk to Jack about one morning when she awakens him?

10. When the children are in the garden discussing what to now that Mother has died, what specifically do they discuss?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define foil. Who is the foil of this novel and why?

Essay Topic 2

There are four points of view in which literature is written: first person, third person objective, third person limited, and omniscient. Which point of view does the author use in this book? Is this the most effective point of view for this story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the point of view from which the novel is written. Does this point of view make the story more or less believable? Select a different point of view and explain how this novel would have changed if written from it.

(see the answer keys)

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