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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. The reader is reminded that the unnamed narrator chose to use the name Liza to represent Alex due to what reason?

2. In what year of college was the unnamed narrator enrolled when he met Alex?

3. The scene at the bar in Part Two: The Golden Vanity transitions to a scene in which the author appears to speak with which character?

4. What is revealed to be the truth about Doctor Roberts's request for the author to see a neurologist?

5. Of how many square feet is the author's third floor apartment composed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Of what type of metafiction is Part Two: The Golden Vanity composed?

2. What injury lands Bernard in the hospital and what role do Natali and Bernard then ask the unnamed narrator to fulfill?

3. Provide an example when Lerner's role as a poet becomes apparent through his use of sensory details.

4. How did Alex and the unnamed narrator first meet and when?

5. Why does the unnamed narrator refer to a particular scene in Part One as having "faded from the photograph" (24)?

6. What event have the unnamed narrator and his agent just been celebrating when the novel opens, and why is the occasion bittersweet for the unnamed narrator?

7. What medical procedure does the author require and why?

8. Who is Roberto and what are his concerns about the world?

9. What major decision does the unnamed narrator make when he first attends a showing of The Clock?

10. Who is Alena?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that discusses the symbolism of the cover art chosen for 10:04.

Essay Topic 2

Read a lengthy interview with Lerner. Write an essay explaining the connection between several of Lerner’s answers and a major theme presented within the text of 10:04.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Lerner's decision to include humor within the nonfiction text of 10:04. What purpose did Lerner have in mind when including these instances of humor and how does the inclusion of these instances support the overarching themes and messages of the text?

(see the answer keys)

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