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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. Who puts lotion on the sunbather?

2. What are Julie's extracurricular activities?

3. Who says there should be a funeral for Mother?

4. Why does the sibling begin to resist the family game?

5. What does Jack do when the person he sees in the window calls to him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jack notice about his mother when he sees her from a distance in Chapter 2?

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

3. What happens when it is Jack's turn in the game he plays with his sisters on the night their parents argue in Chapter 1?

4. Why does Tom get picked on at school?

5. How does Jack's acne problem affect him socially?

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

7. What does the family do to celebrate Jack's birthday?

8. Discuss the dialog between Julie and Jack when Julie tells him that Mother has died.

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

10. What, specifically, do Jack and Julie do to provide Mother with an eternal resting place?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify and discuss three points of foreshadowing from the novel. Did the author use foreshadowing effectively? Why or why not? Define foreshadowing in your essay as well. What role does foreshadowing play in literature?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the roles transferred by Mother to Julie and Jack. What effect does this transfer have on the family unit as a whole?

(see the answer keys)

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