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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 sport did the narrator play with Swede's younger brother?

2. What does an article about Merry say about her that Swede hates?

3. What celebrity does Merry become obsessed with as a child?

4. What does the narrator say Swede is untouched by after their first meeting to write a piece for Swede?

5. Where does Rita first visit Swede in the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Merry's physical attributes described as she grows up?

2. How does the narrator say Swede's grandfather became a glove manufacturer?

3. How does the narrator describe the lack of a generation gap in his neighborhood?

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

5. How does Rita taunt Swede sexually in Chapter 4?

6. What does Swede remember about when Merry watched monks on TV?

7. How does Swede describe glove making to the narrator in Chapter 1?

8. How does the narrator describe Swede and Merry at a seaside cottage and their return from it?

9. Swede reads about bombs over five years after Rita's visit that remind him of Merry. How are they described?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the portrayal of the structure of society in the book. What might the author be saying about social stereotypes based on his portrayal of Swede and his friends?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the character Merry. What is telling about the true nature of Merry based on her non-conformist choices like being militant or becoming a Jain?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the character Rita Cohen. What purpose did Rita's character serve to further the story other than terrorizing Swede?

(see the answer keys)

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