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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 was with Mal when he died?

2. At the beginning of Chapter 9, how long have Fenno and Tony been meeting?

3. Who in Tony's family was blind?

4. Where did Lucinda and Zeke live while he finished his degree?

5. How long did the dog Mavis live?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Stavros?

2. How does Tony leave a place that he has borrowed?

3. How did Jonah die and how did Fern learn of his death?

4. What does Tony serve Fern for dinner in Chapter 14?

5. In Chapter 10, how were the readings at the bookstore?

6. What did Mal spend his time doing at the beginning of Chapter 13?

7. How did Felicity respond when Fenno took her to Mal's in Chapter 13?

8. What are David and Lil doing when Fenno goes to see them at the clinic in Chapter 10?

9. Who were Mal's mother's heroines?

10. Why has Fenno come to the house where Tony and Fern are staying in Chapter 15?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mal ends his life. How important is control in Mal’s life? When does he feel that he is losing control? How does that factor into his decision to end his life?

Essay Topic 2

Fern’s friend Anna does not believe in fate, but destiny. What is the difference between fate and destiny? How does the author show that people are in charge of their lives, and that their choices lead them to the lives they are meant to have, rather than being at the mercy of fate?

Essay Topic 3

Fern and Fenno reach New York at the end of the novel. How does Fern think that a trip through the Midtown Tunnel makes it difficult to know where you will emerge? How does that relate to Fern’s view of life? In what way do the twists and turns of life, like the tunnel, always take people where they intended to be?

(see the answer keys)

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