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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. Ava thinks to herself that whenever she is "about to see [her] mother," her what "wobbles" (50)?

2. What is the last name of the man named Aristide who owns the farm next door to Josephine's farm?

3. When the narrative opens, what major change are Ava and King in the midst of making?

4. In what style does Gladys wear her waist-length hair?

5. How long ago was Gladys diagnosed with cancer, according to Ava?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Gladys's visit to the home of Grandma Martha?

2. Who is Senait?

3. What aspect of Gladys's health worries Ava, though she tries not to think about it?

4. Discuss two instances when Ava engages in denial regarding Grandma Martha's behaviors.

5. What is the source of Josephine's anger toward her son Major on the day of Jericho's school function?

6. In what way does Josephine demonstrate the power to empathize with those different from herself?

7. What clues about Josephine are contained within the photograph belonging to Ava?

8. For what event is Josephine preparing in 1924 when we first meet her?

9. How does the theme of appearance versus reality appear within Ava's worries about her mother Gladys's health?

10. What issue does Ava name as the one that led to the breakup of her marriage to Byron?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Sexton's choice to tell the story of The Revisioners using the first person accounts of both Ava and Josephine. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Sexton’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Sexton’s novel The Revisioners. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Sexton’s use of the water motif within the novel The Revisioners.

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