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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 word refers to a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities?

2. To whom does Tara pray to when she is frightened at home alone in Chapter 8?

3. When Tara and her friends share their fears in Chapter 3, Anna says that she is afraid of whom?

4. Who has been hospitalized for anorexia in Chapter 9?

5. What school friend of Tara's is described as a jock?

Short Essay Questions

1. What awakens Tara in Chapter 2? Who does she turn to for reassurance?

2. What does Tara do after feeling humiliated in front of her schoolmates in Chapter 1? How does she feel?

3. What leads up to Tara's stealing in Chapter 12? What does she do after stealing?

4. How has Greta's relationship with Tara shifted between Chapter 7 and Chapter 8?

5. How does Tara deal with her parents' absence while they are at work in Chapter 8?

6. What does Tara reveal to Donna about herself in Chapter 12? What is Donna's reaction?

7. How are the relationships between Tara and her friends described in Chapter 7?

8. How does Tara describe her relationship to religion in Chapter 2?

9. How does Tara feel about her inward thoughts in Chapter 5?

10. How does Tara describe the summer between fifth and sixth grades in Chapter 7?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss stereotypes in the novel and in real life. How realistic are the characters of Keesha, Kristin and Anna? Are these stereotypes realistic depictions of people you can relate to? Why or why not? Is there a basis in the stereotypes? Are they simply Tara's way of identifying people?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the element of language and style in literature and in the novel. How is language used in "Kissing Doorknobs"? How is it used thematically with Tara's character? How do the characters interact with one another? Does this differ from how Tara's internal mind thinks?

Essay Topic 3

Define and identify dramatic irony and the tragic hero in narrative literature. How many different types of irony are there, and why does dramatic irony fit the situation in Chapter 3? Why is Tara's character tragic? What is ironic about her situation with her friends and family?

(see the answer keys)

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