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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What age is Merry when she and Swede are at a seaside cottage in the book?
(a) Fifteen.
(b) Nine.
(c) Thirteen.
(d) Eleven.

2. What is the first war Merry become militant about?
(a) WWII.
(b) WWI.
(c) The Korean War.
(d) The Vietnam War.

3. Which of the following words does the narrator not use to describe the post-war energy of his neighborhood in Chapter 2?
(a) Optimistic.
(b) Vibrant.
(c) Nervous.
(d) Forward looking.

4. Where does Swede take his first wife to receive a facelift?
(a) Switzerland.
(b) Germany.
(c) France.
(d) Italy.

5. Whom does the man that tells Nathan he wrote a paper for him in school say his life was changed by?
(a) Nathan.
(b) Nathan's father.
(c) Swede.
(d) Bill.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator tell Jerry that the nostalgia of the reunion is least likely to present to explain why he came?

2. What does Rita say should happen to Swede for what he pays the workers in other countries to work in his factories?

3. Swede's healthy self-image changes so that he senses his life is what in Chapter 3?

4. Whom does Merry ask Swede to kiss her like when they are returning from a seaside cottage in Chapter 3?

5. How does the narrator say Dawn feels toward Merry?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the nature of the description of Newark Maid Leatherware?

2. How are the adolescents in Nathan's neighborhood described in Chapter 2?

3. What is the nature of Nathan's conversation with Ira at the high school reunion?

4. What does Rita tell Swede that Merry says about him and her mother?

5. Describe Rita and Swede's conversation after she reveals she is Merry's friend in Chapter 4?

6. How is Jerry described at the beginning of Chapter 3?

7. What does Nathan reminisce about regarding his high school memories while preparing a speech for his reunion?

8. What does one doctor say about Merry's stuttering in regard to her perfectionist family?

9. What is Nathan fascinated with in regard to his childhood culture?

10. What happens when Merry asks Swede if he would kiss her as he did her mother when she was a young child?

(see the answer keys)

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