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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. Where does Theresa ask Alice to go with her?

2. What color does Alice wear in court to appear vulnerable?

3. Who insists on interviewing Alice's daughters?

4. Alice's trial is set for which month?

5. Why does Howard collect rocks from the fields?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Theresa tell Howard regarding her feelings about her and her life with Dan now?

2. What is Theresa's response to Alice's arrest and what role will she probably play in Alice's defense?

3. How is the Goodwin family's life in the apartment radically different from the farm where they belong?

4. What is Howard's perspective on the Goethe quote carved above the courthouse entrance?

5. How do Howard and the girls prepare to move out of the farmhouse?

6. What are Alice's thoughts about religion as she is locked up?

7. How does Howard describe his state of confusion in Chapter 11?

8. What are the details of Howard's sale of the farm and how much does he accept for its purchase?

9. Why is the lunch between Theresa and Alice so awkward?

10. What is the story about a dog and a tangled leash that recurs throughout the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of the passage of time is an important one in the novel. How does the author begin to build this theme? Give examples of the passage of time throughout the book.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the overall setting for the novel. Why does Hamilton use the setting she does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

Essay Topic 3

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of loss. Identify at least two examples about loss in the book. Then explain how each example supports the theme of loss.

(see the answer keys)

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