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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 soon before Christmas was Joan's husband scheduled to arrive at the cottage?

2. In Chapter 3, Seal Sense Analysis, who gave Joan some clams he had dug up?

3. What career loss did Joan suffer at the beginning of Chapter 9, Fogged In?

4. Which of the following is not something Joan woke up to the morning after her husband's arrival for Christmas?

5. What was the dress code at the fish market?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reflections did the seals give Joan on her body image?

2. What costume did Joan wear for the New Year's Eve footrace, and what did it symbolize to her?

3. What was Larry's PX and how did the men who congregated there respond to Joan's presence?

4. How did Joan's husband respond to her day with the seals and what does his response indicate about their marriage?

5. What was Joan's day with the seals like?

6. Where did Joan and her husband meet, and how did Joan's in-laws feel about the couple's relationship?

7. Who was Joan Erikson and how did Joan meet her?

8. In Chapter 9, Fogged In, how did Joan become estranged from her brother?

9. In Chapter 4, Riptide, how did Joan relate the state of her marriage to a riptide?

10. How did Joan's personality differ from her husband's?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the depiction of gender roles in "A Year by the Sea." What characteristics and roles were ascribed to women in the book? What characteristics and roles were ascribed to men in the book? Did the men in the fishing community of Cape Cod treat the women as equals, or did they try to dominate them? Did Joan's husband treat Joan as an equal prior to their year-long separation, or did he try to dominate her? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Joan's two jobs on Cape Cod with her career as a writer. How did her two jobs on Cape Cod change Joan, her relationships, and her marriage? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Joan Anderson's technique of using epigraphs to introduce each chapter in "A Year by the Sea." How did the epigraphs relate to the titles of each chapter? How did the epigraphs relate to the content of each chapter? How did the epigraphs relate to Joan and her life?

(see the answer keys)

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