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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. When was the historical figure, Grace Brown, born?

2. Barnard College has been associated with what university since 1900?

3. What is the name of Mattie’s fourteen-year-old sister?

4. Who announces that Uncle Fifty has skipped town?

5. What does Mattie discover the works of Emily Baxter actually celebrate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mattie discover through Grace Brown’s letter in Chapter 16? What does this clue indicate to Mattie?

2. Where does Mattie shop for books and other items in Chapter 6? What does she find here?

3. What parallels does Mattie make between her situation and that of Grace Brown in Chapter 10?

4. How is the character of Lawton Gokey described in the novel? How have Lawton’s actions influenced Mattie’s situation?

5. How is the theme of identity explored through the characters of Mattie, Weaver, and Minnie in Chapter 9?

6. What clue does Mattie discover in Grace Brown’s letters in Chapter 13? What does she do with this information?

7. What is an example from the novel of Mattie’s tendency for romantic idealization?

8. How does Mattie feel about her involvement in the crisis that occurs in the opening of the novel?

9. What is the crisis that occurs in the opening of A Northern Light? How does this crisis involve the protagonist of the novel?

10. What is Aunt Josie’s reply when Mattie asks her for financial assistance in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the early feminist movement and the suffrage movement in the United States. When did women begin to demand the right to vote and when was the right granted? What are some examples of early feminist authors, and what were their main causes at the turn of the century? How does author Jennifer Donnelly depict this movement in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Mattie’s indecision about the proposition of marriage to Royal Loomis. What to Mattie would be the benefits of marrying Royal? What would be the disadvantages? How do you think you’d feel if you were in Mattie’s position?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the character of Royal Loomis in the novel. What is Grace’s relationship with Royal? How long have they had this relationship? How does the relationship evolve in the course of the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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