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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 does Phillip get to school when he is a child in Nashville?

2. Who is Josephine's serious suitor in Memphis?

3. Who is Howard's father?

4. While in high school, what does Phillip begin collecting?

5. To whom is Josephine's suitor related?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 1, the narrator begins the story with an explanation of the perils of a widower with middle-aged children,dating. What is the major issue faced by the widower? What examples of this situation does the narrator provide?

2. As Chapter 1 opens, Phillip is alone in the apartment he shares with Holly Kaplan. Why is this the case? What are the things Phillip thinks about while deciding whether to go to Memphis?

3. In Chapter 5, Phillip's narrative presents many examples of Alex's ability to befriend both Mr Carver and Phillip Carver. What are the examples Phillip gives?

4. In Chapter 4, Phillip speaks of two important relationships in the novel. One is the friendship between Phillip and Alex. The other is the friendship between Alex and Mr. Carver. Father and son are not particularly close, but each are close to Alex. In this chapter, how does this triangle of friendship begin to display itself?

5. In his letters to Phillip, Alex talks about Betsy and Josephine's involvement in the social scene in Memphis. In Chapter 3, Alex explains that the two women are rather considered a social institution in Memphis. But Alex also speaks at length about how the two women are the "laughing stock of the town." What does Alex mean by this? How does Phillip react to seeing his sisters when he visits?

6. Phillip paints a descriptive picture of his two sisters, Betsy and Josephine, in Chapter 1. How are the two sisters similar? How do they differ?

7. During a conversation with his mother in Chapter 2, Phillip begins to explain how the move to Memphis has ruined his life. His mother laughs at him. How does this affect Phillip and why? How does he compare his mother before and after Memphis?

8. In Chapter 4, Phillip discusses Alex's concerns about Mr. Carver. Phillip listens, but thinks that Alex may not know his sisters as well as he thinks he does. What does Alex fear will happen to Mr. Carver and why? How does Phillip see the situation?

9. In Chapter 2, Phillip tells of the end of Betsy and Wyant's relationship. What incident causes the beginning of the end of the relationship? How does Betsy react to her father? How does Wyant react? What is father's objection and how does he present this to Betsy?

10. In Chapter 6, Phillip describes many of the differences between himself and Alex as adult men. He then notes the differences. What is the primary difference between Alex and Phillip as Phillip sees it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel is set in Tennessee, a southern state. Could the author have set the novel in another location, the West or the East coast, or is this a uniquely Southern novel? Would the novel work if it were set in New York City?

Essay Topic 2

In the beginning of the novel, Holly believes Phillip is obsessed with his family. As the novel continues, she changes her opinion. Phillip learns more about Holly's family, and it becomes evident that there is a strong similarity between Holly and Phillip. What is this mutual experience, and how does it better explain their relationship?

Essay Topic 3

In many novels, dialogue drives the action. In A Summons To Memphis, there is no dialogue in the traditional sense; the book is written in a narrative style. Why do you think the author has chosen to write in narrative style? Are there any characters in the book you would find easier to understand if you were to read his/her words as dialogue?

(see the answer keys)

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