Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-3

Reading Check

1. What is ironic about Mary’s living arrangement being called a group home?

2. What SAT percentile does Mary think will inspire others to overlook her past?

3. What secret is Mary keeping from Ted?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Mary identify with Herbert the fly?

2. What impact do the interspersed testimonies and media clips have on the narrative?

3. Why is Mary’s teen pregnancy even more complicated than usual?

Paired Resource

“Perceptions of Nature, Nurture, and Behavior”

• This scholarly article explores the limitations of the nature-versus-nurture debate in relation to criminal predilection and how public perception of the debate may impact responses to crime and sentencing.
• This relates to the themes of The Effects of Mental Illness on the Family Unit and The Longshot of Rehabilitation.
• How does Jackson use the nature-versus-nurture debate to create ambiguity regarding Mary’s character and scholarly opinions about her case? What does the ambiguity reveal about bias in the criminal justice system?