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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 dad say about the idea to run with Rosa?

2. How does Jessica feel about the prospect of racing again at the beginning of Part V?

3. What does Jessica start in Part V doing with her mom’s permission?

4. What message does Lucy’s mom tell Jessica to deliver to her dad?

5. What does Jessica tell Marla when she gets annoyed by a question in Part V?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Jessica hesitant to expose her fake leg?

2. What does Jessica decide about herself when she completes the River Run?

3. Why does Jessica’s mom urge her to call Gavin the morning after the fundraising event?

4. What helps Jessica push through the full ten-mile River Run?

5. Why does Jessica steer clear of Gavin the week after the article is published?

6. What does Jessica realize when Vanessa asks why she is at the track meet in the first place?

7. What does Merryl say to Jessica about Gavin that she finds very upsetting?

8. How does Jessica feel about her running leg the first few times she tries it?

9. How does Jessica rationalize the fact that Gavin seems to be around all the time?

10. Why does Jessica start running with a wheelchair full of plant soil?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Toward the end of the River Run Jessica decides that the only thing that will get her to the finish line is to take each mile “one by one by one” (328). Explore how the author utilizes the idea that progress takes patience and mindfulness through the characters.

Essay Topic 2

The Running Dream is categorized as a piece of coming-of-age young adult fiction. Analyze how the author incorporates and develops coming-of-age narrative conventions throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the various uses of symbolism the author uses in the novel, and explore how they strengthen the novel’s most prominent themes (such as perseverance or self-acceptance).

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This section contains 836 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample