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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. What is a tourist's job during a "Bataille des Fleurs," (155) according to Noah?

2. When Noah takes Michael down to the seashore in Nice, Michael asks why there are what objects instead of sand?

3. Out of which pocket does Michael pull the chip he shows to Noah?

4. Noah says that the average life expectancy when he was born was under what age?

5. The reader is reminded in Chapter VI: The Law of Closure that which two drugs had been found in Victor's system after his death?

Short Essay Questions

1. What distinction does Noah make between his father Marc's DNA and his mother Margot's DNA?

2. Near the end of Chapter V: Neither Here nor There, what action does Noah think about taking once he returns home to New York City and why?

3. What two revelations are made about the initials MZ within Chapter VII: "Nom de Guerre"?

4. Discuss the difference between Noah's outward reaction and his inward reaction to the revelation that Michael has a tattoo.

5. How does Noah react when Michael asks him how long Noah is going to live?

6. For what reason does Noah lie to Michael in Chapter VI: The Law of Closure?

7. In what way does Joan's voice act as a voice of reason throughout the text?

8. What detail does Noah tell Michael about Miss Sprule's discipline of him during his childhood?

9. To what objects does Noah compare a biological mother and father in his DNA explanation to Michael?

10. Discuss an instance when Noah accepts and applies advice from the voice of his late wife Joan in Chapter V: Neither Here nor There.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of the four photographs Donoghue includes within Akin and what is their connection to one of the novel's main themes?

Essay Topic 2

In what way does Donoghue go about breaking the text into parts and how do these structural elements help to fulfill the goals of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Donoghue's purpose for juxtaposing at least two different locations in a particular way within the text of Akin.

(see the answer keys)

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