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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. In Chapter 58, how does Becka seem to feel upon learning Agnes has a half-sister?

2. According to Becka in Chapter 48, where was Aunt Lily found?

3. How does Aunt Lydia describe Becka's death in Chapter 68?

4. Of whom does Agnes dream in Chapter 63?

5. What name does Daisy start using in Chapter 42?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Nicole's situation become increasingly more dire in Chapters 69 and 70? Who provides a surprising form of help in Chapter 70?

2. What information does Aunt Lydia learn about Becka in Chapter 41? How does she learn this information?

3. What do Agnes and Becka think about Jade at the beginning of Section XX?

4. How does Nicole adapt to life in Gilead at the beginning of Section XX? What does she find difficult?

5. How does Agnes react to the arrival of Jade in Chapter 47?

6. What information does Agnes receive in Chapter 56? How does she come by this information?

7. What happens when the girls arrive in Portsmouth in Chapter 62?

8. Who tries to stop the girls from leaving in Chapter 61? What happens?

9. In Chapter 50, what does Agnes learn about the Concubine Cut into Twelve Pieces? What is her reaction?

10. How does Daisy get the attention of the Pearl Girls in Chapter 42?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The antagonist of a novel is a character who stands in opposition to the protagonist. Who is the antagonist of the novel? Aunt Vidala? Commander Judd? Gilead itself? How does having three protagonists affect your decision? Make a case for that which you believe best fits the criteria of an antagonist.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the author’s choice to tell this story by using alternating perspectives. How does viewing the action through the eyes of Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Nicole affect the story? How would the book be different if the story was told through just one perspective?

Essay Topic 3

Aunt Lydia finds herself involved in several conflicts over the course of the novel. Choose one instance of internal conflict and one instance of external conflict, and explain how these conflicts have an impact on the story and the characters involved.

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