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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. Why is Paul winning money?

2. Who sends something to Mother every year on her birthday?

3. How does Paul describe the changes in his life after his mother gets the money she wants?

4. What keeps Mother at the party after she wants to leave?

5. What is Paul's face full of after the party?

Short Essay Questions

1. What keeps Mother at the party when she wants to leave?

2. Why does Paul think he was able to predict all the horse winners?

3. What does Mother do with her birthday gift?

4. What is Paul hoping to hear from the house after his mother gets her birthday present?

5. How does Paul respond when Mother tries to help him when she gets worried about him?

6. How is Mother unlucky even after getting rich?

7. What changes in Mother after she gets the birthday gift?

8. What does Mother say caused her family a lot of grief when she was younger?

9. How does the author describe Paul as he discovers the name of the winning Derby horse?

10. What is the first thing Mother does when she comes home from her party?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Despair was a theme that was placed in a number of sensitive places in this plot. What are some of these places, and what role did despair play in this book?

Essay Topic 2

Which character did you relate with the most in this book? Why is this? How did this character change throughout the book?

Essay Topic 3

Jean was a minor character whose presence made a big difference in the plot. How did she accomplish this? What are some ways that her presence, though brief, altered the outcome of the plot? What would have happened differently if she had not been in the book at all?

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