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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 shocking news does the narrator's sister tell him during her visit?

2. The narrator has been accepted into a graduate program at what university?

3. The narrator says that there was something genetic or psychological in his and his sister's makeup that __________________.

4. How does Lou feel about his fiancee's parents?

5. Where does the person in #124 find a job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What eventually happens to Sean who is conflicted by his own identity?

2. What is the narrator's life like after he moves to New York?

3. How does the relationship between Maria and the narrator change when she moves to New York?

4. How can the raid on the Stonewall Inn be both a beginning and an ending of a gay rights movement?

5. How does shame get pushed aside in the events leading up to, and after, the Stonewall Inn raids?

6. Who is Lou and how does the narrator meet him?

7. How did the poverty-stricken lives of Betts and Buddy mirror the social deprivation during the times they lived through?

8. Why is the New York experience so important to the narrator's longing to be part of a community?

9. What does the narrator experience for the first time after a sexual encounter in a subway restroom that he has never experienced before?

10. How are the narrator's parents portrayed in the book and what do they want most for their son?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 2

Create a character study of Maria. What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Maria?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the significance of the novel's title--"The Beautiful Room is Empty". Why did White choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be more appropriate?

(see the answer keys)

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