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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 is unusual about Jimmy's favorite professor at seminary?

2. What is one book Horace uses to inform his transformation?

3. What is the only book Zeke ever reads?

4. Who does Horace live with in the section titled White Sorcery?

5. Which animal did Horace consider changing himself into at first?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Zeke remember about Cyrus Johns and Cicero Edmunds fighting over?

2. What is Zeke's relationship with his sister-in-law Ruth like?

3. What particular part of Horace's spell to transform himself into an animal does he struggle with morally?

4. What kinds of books does Horace like, judging from how he has decorated his bedroom at home?

5. Why does Reverend Greene's wife, Anne, say she wants to stay in the South?

6. What format does Reverend Greene's conversation with Horace beginning on page 40 take?

7. What are some of Horace's interests that converge to lead him to try casting a spell?

8. What is a main driving force in Horace's grandfather Zeke's life?

9. What significant historical event did Zeke's grandfather, Ezra, live through?

10. Where does Reverend Greene take Ruth and Zeke in his car in the section titled December 8, 1985?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kenan chooses to end the book with a brief section titled Requiem for Tobacco. What message do you think Kenan was trying to leave the reader with by closing the novel this way, right after the description of Horace's suicide? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Reverend Jimmy Greene's reaction to Horace's concerns that Horace thinks he is gay. How does Reverend Greene draw on his religious background and teachings to formulate his answer and advice to Horace?

Essay Topic 3

What are some of the struggles that seen to lead to the marital strife, conflict, and eventual infidelity between Reverend Greene and his wife Anne? What evidence is there in the text to imply that Reverend Greene may also be struggling to come to terms with the true nature of his sexuality in a similar way to Horace? Write an essay exploring your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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