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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When ma returns from the hospital, she tells middle sister that she is in love with which character?
(a) Jason-of-the-names.
(b) First brother-in-law.
(c) Real milkman.
(d) The milkman.

2. When middle sister thinks about her discussion with a particular character in the bar, she tells the reader that to her surprise, the topic of the discussion had actually been what?
(a) The rearing of wee sisters.
(b) Middle sister's status as a beyond-the-pale.
(c) Milkman.
(d) First brother-in-law's status as a sexual predator.

3. The gossip centered around middle sister and the milkman names which location as their favorite place to meet?
(a) The chip shop.
(b) City Hall.
(c) An abandoned church.
(d) The cemetery.

4. Jason-of-the-Names tells ma on the phone that real milkman is now in which location?
(a) His own home.
(b) A detention facility.
(c) Jail.
(d) The hospital.

5. On which day of the week had tablets girl always poisoned people, prior to her more frequent poisonings?
(a) Monday.
(b) Friday.
(c) Saturday.
(d) Wednesday.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many weeks after real milkman is hurt does middle sister go to the chip shop, where she is then confronted by the community?

2. At what time of night does the group of renouncers-of-the-state arrive at maybe-boyfriend's house to threaten him?

3. How many people in the group of seven men confronting maybe-boyfriend are wearing balaclavas?

4. Whose death is revealed at the end of Chapter 4?

5. Who threatens tablets girl's family that they will kill her if she does not stop using poison, just after she has nearly killed her own family member?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does middle sister mean when she says, "My inner world, it seemed, had gone away" (176)?

2. What change occurs in middle sister's feelings for maybe-boyfriend after the milkman begins to stalk her?

3. Describe an instance when Burns makes a point about how polarization often leads to exclusion.

4. Who is tablets girl?

5. For what reason does the incident in the chip shop happen, according to middle sister?

6. Give an example of Burns's use of sarcastic humor within Chapter 5 and explain its connection to one of the novel's major themes.

7. What act does middle sister see as the one that would symbolize her surrender to the milkman?

8. What is the symbolism of the "tenner" (220) in the novel?

9. What major revelation about the community's view of middle sister does longest friend reveal during their meeting?

10. Why do the renouncers-of-the-state come to middle sister's family's door in Chapter 5?

(see the answer keys)

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