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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. How old will Shirley be on her upcoming birthday in Chapter 1, "The Sign"?

2. Who was the woman who did the sewing for the Barton home before she died?

3. Where does Joy go every month to visit her son in prison?

4. How long was Patty married to Sebastian?

5. What does Karen-Lucie say she did for "a hundred years" in her youth (77)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does it strike a nerve with Pete when Tommy asks about his mother?

2. How is foreshadowing employed in Chapter 3, "Cracked"?

3. How is the narrative related in Chapter 3, "Cracked"?

4. What losses have Karen-Lucie and Joy experienced in Chapter 3, "Cracked"?

5. What does Charlie Macauley represent to Patty in Chapter 2, "Windmills"?

6. Who is Lucy Barton and what is revealed of her story in Chapter 1, "The Sign"?

7. What are Tracy's actions, objectives, and obstacles in Chapter 4, "The Hit-Thumb Theory"?

8. What setting is featured in the ending of Chapter 4, "The Hit-Thumb Theory"? Why is this significant?

9. How would you describe Patty Nicely's character?

10. What is the meaning of the title of Chapter 1, "The Sign"? To what does the "Sign" refer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the exchange between Abel Blaine and Linck McKenzie in "Gift." How do these characters meet? Who controls their interaction? What is revealed through their exchange and how does this connect to the themes in the work?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's use of irony in Anything Is Possible. What are examples of verbal irony in the stories of the collection? What situational irony appears in these stories? What are examples of dramatic irony, particularly in the story "Cracked"?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the short-story structure of Anything Is Possible. Why does the author set up the novel in this way? How do the stories in the collection connect to one another? How does this style give the reader greater insight into the themes of the work?

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This section contains 739 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample