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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. How old was Jude when he ran away from the group home?

2. How does Willem react when he hears that Jude has attempted suicide?

3. In what direction did Jude travel when he left the group home?

4. Starring in what kind of movie brings Willem his first taste of fame?

5. Dr. Traylor held Jude captive in what part of his house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Harold find out that Caleb has been physically abusing Jude?

2. To what historical event does the part title Vanities allude?

3. What major turning point in the novel occurs within Part V: The Happy Years, in relation to Jude and Willem?

4. Harold reveals that he had first learned about Jude's rituals of self-harm in what manner?

5. What is ironic about the mistaken identity of the person Jude hallucinates is trying to hurt him?

6. What happens to nullify Jude's chosen method of coping with the trauma inflicted by Caleb?

7. How does the motif of dreams appear within Harold's characterization?

8. Describe the calculating and patient nature of Brother Luke's move to make Jude a child prostitute.

9. For what reason does Jude's suicide attempt fail?

10. In what way does Jude liken Caleb to Brother Luke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explicate the theme of secrecy within A Little Life. What is Yanagihara’s message regarding secrecy and how do you know?

Essay Topic 2

Look carefully at the passages of A Little Life that describe the close relationship between Willem and Jude. What is Yanagihara’s purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between Jude and Willem?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life. What message is Yanagihara sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

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