View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did studying her old photos reveal to Joan about herself?

2. What did most people on the island think Joan was in town to do?

3. What was Joan Erickson looking into getting instead of a car to transport herself around town?

4. How old were Joan's children at the beginning of the book?

5. Where would Joan go before she went to meetings with editors?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What kind of job did Joan get in Chapter 4, Riptide, and why didn't she ask her husband for financial help instead of getting a job?

3. What kind of Christmas tree did Joan and her husband have on Cape Cod, and how did they decorate?

4. Why did Joan and her husband decide to separate?

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

6. In Chapter 9, Fogged In, how did Joan compare women to fog?

7. In Chapter 6, Waves of Truth, how did Joan feel about her sons' plans to spend Christmas with their wives' families instead of with Joan and her husband?

8. How did Joshua Cahoon differ from Joan's husband?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how holidays affected Joan in the book. Did her feelings about holidays change during her year by the sea? In what ways do holidays illustrate Joan's feelings about the traditional role of women in society? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Joan's reliability as a narrator. How reliable is she? In what ways might she be biased? Do you think her perceptions of her experiences are accurate? Why or why not? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

The subtitle of "A Year by the Sea" is "Thoughts of An Unfinished Woman." Discuss why you think Joan chose this title. How did she depict herself as being unfinished in the book? Was she "finished" by the end, or was she still "unfinished" at the book's end? Did her definition of unfinished change during the course of the book? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,134 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample