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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 job offer does Oliver finally take?

2. After several years of waiting for financial backers, what happens to Frank and Wiley?

3. What is the conclusion of the discussion between Oliver and Susan in Mexico?

4. What is Susan's observation about the lives of Mexican women?

5. What sort of paperwork does Shelley give Lyman to read?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the theme of this chapter?

2. Why doesn't Susan leave with Frank?

3. What is Susan's attitude towards Oliver when she returns to New York and is with her friends?

4. What is Susan's attitude about Idaho?

5. What happens between Frank and Susan on the evening of July 4th?

6. Do the Wards reach an angle of repose during this period? What is threatening to cause that balance to shift?

7. Why does Frank commit suicide?

8. What is the underlying message to Augusta in Susan's letter from Mexico?

9. What is the tone of Susan's letter to Augusta in this chapter?

10. Why is the job offer from US Geological Survey a mixed blessing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What qualities did Susan admire in Augusta that she herself did not have? How did Susan shape her life to be more like Augusta's life? What did Augusta have that Susan wanted?

Essay Topic 2

What are the themes of this novel, and did the author express them well?

Essay Topic 3

What role did Shelley Rasmussen play in the plot movement in this novel? How did she compare with Susan Ward in Lyman's eyes? How did the author use Shelley to explain Lyman's character?

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