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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. Why does the narrator first spend the night at Y's house in "Returning"?

2. What conference does Marie present at in "Office Hours"?

3. What does the flight attendant tell the narrator there is the same word for that has two meanings in "Returning"?

4. What job does Marie eventually take in "Office Hours"?

5. Where is Marie's office in "Office Hours"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator act like when she is first married to Peter in "Returning"?

2. Why does Marie think she may have ended up on the tenure track in "Office Hours"?

3. In "Office Hours," what does the professor show Marie before he dies?

4. In "Returning," what does the narrator realize when she wakes up on the plane?

5. What does the older professor let Marie do in "Office Hours" in his office?

6. Why does the narrator realize she cannot leave the airport in "Returning"?

7. What is the narrator's reaction to Peter's gifting her the engagement ring in "Returning"?

8. What is the danger of the "Morning Ritual" in "Returning"?

9. How does the narrator in "Returning" feel at her college reunion?

10. What is one student's criticism of the narrator's story about the nanny in "Peking Duck"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the writing of both the narrator and Peter in the story "Returning" reflect both of these characters' anxieties and traits? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think Ma means the baby arm to symbolize in the story "Tomorrow"? Why? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What problems and tensions does the narrator in the story "Office Hours" experience in her professional life at the university? How does she handle these problems and tensions? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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