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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. Where does Rhea live?

2. How many years have passed since the women have seen Lou?

3. What is the name of the newsstand the character uses?

4. Where does Alice live?

5. What is the name of Sasha's therapist?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Scotty say about his job as a janitor?

2. What is Rhea's explanation of San Francisco in 1979?

3. What are Alex's impressions of Sasha's apartment?

4. How does the woman with the stolen wallet react upon learning that her wallet is gone?

5. What is the purpose of the visit to Lou's house?

6. How does the group's friendship - and the band - end?

7. What is Scotty doing in the beginning of the chapter?

8. In the beginning of Chapter 2, Bennie meets with record executives. What is the topic of conversation?

9. How does Lou explain women to young Rolph?

10. Explain Mindy's studies and her observations about Cora.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Redemption is one of the main themes in the story. Each of the characters seems to go through a dark period. This is especially true of Sasha, whose entire background is revealed in various chapters. Sasha was a run away, did drugs, had many injuries and a rough life on the streets or in run down places all over the world, including Naples. Jocelyn may have the darkest past of all. Jocelyn fell into a bad lifestyle at a young age and spent her life from then on in and out of drug rehab and having bad experiences. Discuss redemption and how it applies to Sasha, Jocelyn, and Bennie. Explain in detail how and why each character felt the need to be redeemed.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the relationship between Bennie and Scotty. What is the common ground for friendship? How do their professional lives often interfere with their personal relationship? How does one know when a boundary has been crossed? Do the friends respect each other? How has their relationship changed/evolved over the past twenty years? Where might it go from here? Do you think the relationship will ever change drastically?

Essay Topic 3

The author uses flashbacks as a way to give a background to many of the characters. Examine the use of flashback and your opinion on its effectiveness. Give at least three examples.

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This section contains 1,017 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample