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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. Who does Swede see having sex in the kitchen of his house at the end of Chapter 7?

2. What does the narrator say Dawn did as a way to distance herself from the stigma of being a beauty queen?

3. To whom does Lou send copies of letters that he wrote to President Johnson?

4. What does the person Swede calls after he has seen Merry in Chapter 6 tell him to do in regard to Merry?

5. What is the name of Barry's militant non-conformist wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Swede ponder about when thinking of Rita stealing his money?

2. How does Swede compare his life to Johnny Appleseed?

3. How does Dawn describe her home with Swede to her architect?

4. How is Swede's mother affected by Merry's disappearance in Chapter 7?

5. What does Marcia remark about regarding social conditions in Chapter 8?

6. What does Jessie do to Lou at the end of the book?

7. How does Sheila explain her reason for taking Merry in, to Swede in Chapter 9?

8. How is Bill Orcutt described in Chapter 7?

9. How does Swede suggest that the Miss New Jersey pageant ruined Dawn?

10. What is the nature of Lou's discussion regarding the downfall of Newark in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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

Essay Topic 3

One of the major factors to create Merry's militant actions is the impact of Swede's kiss to Merry as a child.

Part 1) What is telling of Merry based on her request that her father kiss her like he would her mother?

Part 2) What about Swede's sudden pullback after he had kissed Merry as a child could have caused her militant behavior later in life?

Part 3) What about Swede's inability to understand the impact his kiss had on Merry suggests he is unable to relate to others in his life?

(see the answer keys)

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