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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. Why does Helene fear her library card will be revoked?

2. Which of the following in NOT one of the bibles Marks & Co. offered Helene in place of the Bible she requested?

3. Where does Helene think the first edition Frank sent her in 1950 belongs?

4. Where would Helene have to shop for books in New York City if she didn't have Marks & Co. sending them to her door?

5. What did Cecily's children enjoy most from Helene's Easter package?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Helene learn that the other employees of Mark & Co are curious about her?

2. What is Helene doing for a living in 1964?

3. What is written in the first letter Helene receives from Marks & Co. bookstore?

4. Why is Helene upset about the Pepys' Diary sent to her?

5. What does Nora reveal to Helene that Frank chastises her for?

6. What news about Cecily does Nora share with Helene?

7. What does Helene mean when she says, "From where I sit, London's a lot closer than 17th Street"?

8. What prompts Frank's wife Nora to write Helene for the first time?

9. Who writes Helene to thank her for the 1951 Easter package?

10. What does the staff of Marks & Co. do with the 1951 Christmas package Helene sends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Helene Hanff was surprised by how well her book of letters was received, claiming it was just a little book of "business correspondence." Do you think this is how she really felt about it? Why or why not? Support your answer fully.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how Helene's relationship with the bookshop employees deepens and extends to include other people over the years.

Essay Topic 3

Helene concludes that she goes through life "watching the English language being raped before me face." What does she mean by this and why does she use a literary reference to Edward Arlington Robinson?

(see the answer keys)

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