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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 is the only reason that Patty Jane will get out of bed in Chapter 7?

2. How does Thor find the modeling shoot in Chapter 5?

3. According to Nora, when did her father disappear?

4. Why is Harriet writing a song in Chapter 9?

5. What does Thor imagine during the photo shoot in Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Harriet excited about in Chapter 9?

2. Who picks Harriet up in Chapter 2 and where do they go?

3. Who is at the store when Harriet and Ione go to get cigarettes in Chapter 7?

4. What does Avel give Harriet as an engagement present?

5. How does Thor show a change during his walk home at dawn in Chapter 6?

6. What memory does Nora recall about her mother and a man at a drugstore in the prologue?

7. In Chapter 3, how does Patty Jane feel about being pregnant?

8. How does Patty Jane act after Thor's disappearance?

9. How does Ione anger Patty Jane in Chapter 9?

10. What does Avel send Patty Jane in Chapter 9? What does she do with it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the death and illness motif in "Patty Jane's House of Curl." Who dies in the novel and how do these deaths affect the characters and plot? What are the reasons for their deaths? What do the reactions of the loved ones left behind reveal of their relationships? How does Thor's injury affect his life and the lives of the other characters?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and interpret the relationship between Harriet and Patty Jane. Do they have a strong bond? What past experiences have brought them closer together? How do they handle being separated from one another during Harriet's alcoholism? How does Patty Jane react to Harriet's illness? How does she help Harriet at this time?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of separation in the novel. What are some examples of separation in the novel? How do these examples of separation affect the characters?

(see the answer keys)

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