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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Harry give to Lauren in Chapter 16?

2. Who calls the fire department once the fire starts in the Payne-Parrish house?

3. How does the neighborhood attackers get in?

4. Where does Lauren hide her money?

5. Where is the best place to get clean, drinkable water?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lauren says early in the novel that God might just be whatever it is that makes you feel "special and protected". She outlines various different ways people conceptualize God. For each of the following ideas of God, cite examples from the text that show people believing in this type of Deity, and explain how this belief influences the character's actions:

a. God as a "super person"--Big Daddy, Cop, King, etc.

b. God as a punisher.

c. God as Nature.

d. God as a spirit/a force/ the ultimate reality.

Essay Topic 2

Although Cory knows what awaits her son outside the walls of Robledo, she approves of him leaving the community. Why do you think she does this? Describe the relationships she has with each of her children, her stepdaughter, and her husband. What do these relationships reveal about her character?

Essay Topic 3

Lauren and others acquire "hyperempathy syndrome", which makes them feel both the pleasure and pain of those around them.

a. How does this syndrome affect the lives of those who have it?

b. What are the drawbacks and what are the benefits?

c. What is the effect of knowing that she contracts the disease from her drug-abusing mother? Does it make the disease seem more like a curse and less like a "superpower"?

d. How does having this syndrome affect your relationships with others?

e. Do you think the syndrome is real or that the sensations are illusions? Explain, based on evidence from the text?

(see the answer keys)

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