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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 many siblings does Alice have?

2. Alice tells her husband that he peaks in which year?

3. In chapter one, what object does Alice wave in the air following Calvin's speech?

4. Of the following, which does Calvin NOT list among those Alice frequently takes care of?

5. What is Alice's mother doing for a living when she meets Alice's father?

Short Essay Questions

1. In chapter three, why does Alice accept the request to be photographed in a fashion issue of a magazine?

2. In chapter two, Calvin Trillin draws a parallel in the relationship between the novelist Dick Francis and his late wife Mary and Trillin's own marriage to Alice. Explain.

3. According to Calvin Trillin, Alice's beauty gives her some advantages. Explain.

4. In chapter one, the reader learns that there is one condolence letter that makes Calvin Trillin laugh. Why?

5. In what ways are Alice's looks, coupled with the superficial facts about her background, misleading?

6. What event causes Alice to feel as though she loses her looks?

7. Describe Calvin Trillin's father-in-law.

8. Does Alice believe she is accurately portrayed in Trillin's books and articles? Briefly describe why or why not.

9. What does Alice keep in her Important Things envelope? Why are the things inside it so important to her?

10. In chapter three, Calvin Trillin explains that Alice's role as caretaker to her parents has a positive impact on her life. How?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of money in About Alice.

Part 1) What is Alice's attitude toward spending money? (Include the Alice Tax and Alice's Law of Compensatory Cash Flow in your response.)

Part 2) What is Calvin's attitude toward spending money? (Include Calvin's theory on writing the mortgage check.)

Compare and contrast the views of Alice and Calvin regarding money. To what extent are they products of their respective upbringings? Is money a source of conflict for them?

Cite examples from the book in your response.

Essay Topic 2

Select one of the major themes or subjects below from About Alice. Be sure to select a theme or subject about which you have not already written a detailed essay.

• The relationship between Calvin and Alice.

• Marriage.

• Perseverance.

• Loss.

• Cigarettes.

• Beauty

• The relationship between Alice and her parents.

• The relationship between Alice and her daughters.

• Gratitude.

• Social activism.

• Money.

• Parenthood.

Be sure to include quotes from the novel that help develop the theme.

Essay Topic 3

Calvin Trillin states that Alice takes on a caretaker role with her parents early on in life.

Part 1) Compare and contrast the type of relationship Alice has with her parents with that of Alice's relationship with her own daughters.

Part 2) Who is a better role model, Alice or Alice's mother? Why?

Include examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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