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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. Who is the landlady of 28 Barbary Lane?

2. What is Mary Ann's job before she moves to San Fransisco?

3. Why does Ruby think Edgar is not seeing any improvements?

4. In "Post-Mortem," what does Mary Ann do after looking at the "moon river"?

5. Where does Beauchamp invite Mary Ann?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mrs. Madrigal comfort Edgar after he confesses that he is dying?

2. What does DeDe do after Splinter refuses her?

3. Why does Mary Ann consider moving back to Cleveland and what changes her mind?

4. What is the source of Edgar's bad temper and general unhappiness?

5. Why do neither Mary Ann nor Connie think they will stay in touch when Mary Ann moves out?

6. At Frannie's party, what happens to the conductor and where does he go?

7. What happens in Chapters 22 through 30 that shows how the narrative intersects the lives of its characters?

8. How are Edgar and Mrs. Madrigal connected even though they don't know it at first?

9. Explain what happens when DeDe visits Mary Ann?

10. Of what does Hillary accuse Brian? How does he react?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss some of the parallels between the relationships of Mona and her family, Michael and his family, and Mary Ann and her family. Use specific examples from the book to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

"Tales of the City" was originally published as a daily newspaper serial. Explore how the story fits the serial format versus the novel format. In what ways does the structure of the novel give away its beginning as a serial drama in a newspaper?

Essay Topic 3

The one nuclear family in the book include the Halcyons: Edgar, Frannie, DeDe, and Beauchamp (by marriage). How does the author portray this family? Based on this portrayal, what can the reader infer about the author's view of family?

(see the answer keys)

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