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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 does Malcolm's father do for a living?

2. While Jude's college friends do not know much about his childhood, they do know that Jude had no what?

3. To what career does JB aspire in college?

4. What was the first thing Jude ever stole?

5. Who writes Willem a check so that he can travel home to see Hemming?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the theme of regret appear within A Little Life?

2. What do the coupons in the novel symbolize?

3. What is the occasion of the opening scene in A Little Life?

4. What happens to necessitate the use of the fire escape?

5. Who is Felix and what is significant about his emotional breakdown?

6. What two elements of Willem's life in Wyoming does he miss?

7. How does the theme of deception enter the narrative within the friendship between Willem and Jude?

8. Discuss a time when Yanigihara uses a metaphor to represent some aspect of friendship.

9. What does Willem say in the opening scene when he is asked about his parents and why is it significant?

10. In what way is foreshadowing included in relation to Jude's future?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the function of Caleb's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Yanagihara in depicting Caleb and include in your discussion the reasons that Yanagihara portrays Caleb in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 2

What messages does Yanagihara send about the power of communication and what themes are employed in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Yanagihara’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of A Little Life.

(see the answer keys)

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