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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 has happened recently to Buddy and Betts?

2. The narrator comments on Maria's growing __________________.

3. With whom does the narrator begin a relationship during this Summer?

4. Who is the woman with whom Lou has a relationship during this time?

5. How does Lou feel about the idea of heterosexual married life?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the significance of the narrator's sister's visit and her revelation of being a lesbian?

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

4. What is the significance of the author's using the present tense for scene in which the narrator engages in group sex in the subway restroom?

5. Why is Lou desperate to get married and how does the narrator help him?

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

7. How does the narrator feel about Lou's criticism of the narrator's work?

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

9. How does the narrator's decreasing shame mirror what is going on in the gay community in general?

10. What do the narrator's parents--and society in general--consider to be a "normal" lifestyle for their son?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a character study of the narrator. What are his physical characteristics? What are his motivations? What are his fears? What are his dreams? What else can you say about the narrator?

Essay Topic 2

The latter part of the novel takes place in the late 1960s as America is experiencing free love, war protests, gay liberation and radical shifts in music. Research this period in America and create a multimedia presentation of the clothes, food, music and people during

Essay Topic 3

The theme of struggling with personal identity is an important one in this novel. Describe how it extends through setting, character and issues and provide examples for each.

(see the answer keys)

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