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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 sport goes violently wrong when Pat Conroy tries to teach it?

2. In Chapter One, what is the situation at Yamacraw school?

3. Why is it impossible to commute to the island?

4. What type of insect tortures Pat Conroy on Yamacraw?

5. Who is the deputy superintendent?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what purpose does Pat Conroy attempt to give the students a classical music education?

2. How do the people on the island react to the two students from Cowell College?

3. Describe Yamacraw Island.

4. How does Pat Conroy spend his days after school?

5. Why does Mrs. Brown object to singing into the tape recorder in the classroom?

6. According to Piedmont, how has Jesus changed him?

7. How did Thomas anger the whites when he was young?

8. Physically describe Bennington.

9. How does Ted Stone feel about killing men while at war?

10. Although Mrs. Brown bans Joe and Jim from the school due to a lack of credentials, what is her real concern about their presence in the classroom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create an argument for or against the following statement, citing examples from the text: Pat Conroy fails to set an example against racism on Yamacraw Island.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the relationships between whites and blacks during the time period of "The Water is Wide."

1) What time period is it and what is happening politically in the United States?

2) How do whites feel about blacks?

3) How do blacks feel about whites?

Essay Topic 3

Examine Pat Conroy's concern that the children of Yamacraw are not treated fairly by their country.

1) What opportunities do the children lack?

2) Who is willing to help them get ahead?

3) Why does their struggle for success seem hopeless?

(see the answer keys)

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