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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. At what time does Annie finally call Blumenfeld?

2. What does Annie take to her appointment with Melanie?

3. What emotion do the paintings that Annie finds on her front porch evoke in her?

4. Why does Annie put her stuffed rabbit in a bag?

5. What items in the cottage that Ben visits fascinates him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Ben's reaction when he first sees Annie after their separation.

2. Does Dr. Blumenfeld think that Annie should be working with children?

3. Why does Blumenfeld believe that Melanie never really changed as a therapist, despite Annie's opinion that she did change?

4. Do you believe Melanie actually come to take care of Annie while she was sick, or was this a hallucination?

5. How did Annie's father die?

6. What differences does Annie see in the picture of herself and her mother, and herself and her father?

7. Why does Annie make Ben wait to see her?

8. Why does Annie believe a child's earliest memories are forgotten?

9. Does Annie believe that Dr. Blumenfeld will be able to help her?

10. What does Dr. Blumenfeld say about Annie's attempt to kill Melanie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Burning is a theme that is repeated often in this novel. For instance, Annie's mother was burned as a child, Ben was left in a burning house, and Annie experiences the sensation of burning skin several times during the course of the novel. Describe why burning is so important in the novel. Identify at least three references to burning and describe how they relate to one another.

Essay Topic 2

Goodbyes and the effect these goodbyes can have on people is a major theme of Annie's novel. Ben struggles with his abandonment by both his birth mother and his first set of foster parents. Annie, meanwhile, is devastated by her father's suicide and her parents' disappearance when she was a small child in the hospital as well as an abandonment by her therapist, Melanie. Discuss the way in which Annie builds upon her own lost relationships in order to make her parting with Ben as painless for Ben as possible. Discuss also Annie's hurt from her own badly ended relationship with her therapist. In what ways does Blumenfeld help Annie to heal from this traumatic ending?

Essay Topic 3

Prepare a character sketch for Melanie. Be sure to include aspects such as 1. physical appearance, 2. technique in working with Annie, 3. Melanie's role in the novel, 4. who Melanie represents to Annie.

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